A Mission Of Love - Naruto
by HephaestusBuilds
Summary: Post War. Naruto/Sakura, Ino/Sai, Shikamaru/Temari are sent on a mission to infiltrate a luxurious island resort. The ninjas are split into couples and infiltrate the resort as rich young couples. Chaos ensues as the couples are forced to spend time with each other alone and come face to face with their own feelings. Naruto/Sakura. Ino/Sai. Shikamaru/Temari. Full description inside
1. Ch1: A Rude Awakening

Chapter 1

***Author's Note***

 _ ***I AM NEW! READ ME!***_

I have heard your requests and I have brought you what you asked, I have edited this chapter. I didn't do very much but I did fix the dialogue, worked on the paragraph spacing's, fixed some wordings and made Naruto's reaction a little less over the top. Please, let me know what you think of this edited version. If I get some requests I'll go ahead and edit my other earlier chapters as well.

Now back to my old Author's Note, let me know if I should change these as well. Thanks.

I just want to start off by saying that this is the first Naruto fanfic I've written, I've only written Animorphs ones so far, so I'm sorry if anyone is out of character or if the tone is wrong or anything. I've been reading Naruto fanfics almost religiously for the past few weeks so I decided to try my hand at trying it out. I plan on continuing this story and making it into a fairly long story. This chapter doesn't contain any but I'm planning on adding some adult situations and moments between the characters so this story will be rated M unless I change my mind.

If you like my story so far please let me know, if I don't get any feedback then I'll just drop it, and I really don't want to. If reception is good then I'll work on some more Naruto stories as I have some ideas brewing.

For any of you who are following my Animorphs: The Untold Stories series I'm sorry for not putting out a chapter this week, I kept getting distracted reading Naruto Fanfics and couldn't get this story idea out of my head. I plan on uploading the next chapter next week, Saturday the 15th.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks, Hephaestus

***Summary***

Post War. Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Sai, Shikamaru and Temari are sent on a secret infiltration mission to infiltrate a luxurious island resort for the rich. Where it is suspected that the rich and powerful are using it as a cover to buy, sell and trade in stolen and illegal items. The ninjas are split into pairs and are told to act as couples and infiltrate the resort as rich young couples. Chaos ensues as the couples are forced to spend time with each other alone and come face to face with their own feelings. Naruto/Sakura. Ino/Sai. Shikamaru/Temari. Romance/Humor. Updates to come asap.

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Chapter 1

Prologue:

After the Fourth Great Ninja War the world finally entered an era of peace. With the Five Great Nations allied together under Naruto's bond of friendship, the once warring nations now stood united side by side, helping and protecting each other. The time of Great Wars and end of the world battles were over, so the ninjas of the elemental villages spent their time and talents serving their nations as a whole. As the hero of the Leaf and the savior of the world the young blond named Naruto gained respect from most of the ninja world, earning the title of Kitsune Kage, meaning Fox Shadow. However while the ninja world was at peace the rest of the world was struggling to gain the power of the Five Great Nations.

* * *

"Naruto, you _baka_ , wake up!" The blond haired ninja was having a dream about the very same pink haired girl who was now shaking his shoulders violently as if she were trying to remove his head.

"Sa- Sakura-chan?" The blond questioned as he was being shook awake. Naruto looked around the room trying to figure what was going on. He turned to see his beloved Sakura hovering over him trying to wake him up and he smiled.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan." The blond said a little too loudly and upbeat for her taste, it was still really early. He looked to his bedside clock and turned to the girl next to him. His eyes widened as worry and concern rushed across his face. The blond quickly sat up, fully awake.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan? Did something happen?"

The pink haired ninja let out sigh, every time she came to his house and woke him up he asked her that very same question. If she were okay. Why does he always think there was a problem whenever I wake him up in the middle of the night?

' _Maybe because it's a natural reaction to have when someone wakes you up at three in the morning.'_ The pink haired ninja said to herself.

"I'm fine, Naruto." The female ninja said as she stepped back from looming over his bed.

"But you need to get up right now. Kakashi sensei has summoned us to the Hokage's Tower for a mission."

The blond gave her an annoyed look, not that he was annoyed at her but by having to get up so early.

"Why do we have to go in now? Can't we just go in later?" He laid back, let out a loud yawn, stretched his arms out and rolled over, preparing to go back to sleep.

The pink haired ninja was starting to lose her patience with her best friend, he had the audacity to just yawn and roll over like that when she came all the way over here in the dark to wake him up, who does he think he is? She was about to punch him into the wall when it hit her, she walked all the way here in the dark by herself to get here to wake him up. She let out a cunning smile, she figured out a surefire way to get Naruto to come with her.

"Fine, then, Naruto." She said as she slowly turned to leave the room.

"I'll just head over there by myself." He's never going to fall for this, she thought. Not even he's _that_ stupid.

"Gee, I sure hope that I'll be fine walking across the village in the middle of the night by myself, I sure hope that nothing happens to me on my way there." She turned her head slightly to see his reaction.

The pink haired girl nearly yelped when the blond haired hero of the Leaf launched out of his bed like a rocket and landed on the floor behind her.

"Hold on, Sakura-chan." He said as he lightly grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving, she almost flinched from the sudden contact but her mind quickly registered that it was just Naruto, and that it was normal.

"You can't go to the Hokage's Tower by yourself this late. It's too dangerous." She caught the look in his eye, at first she thought it was the same look whenever he offered to help someone, but it looked, no, more like felt a little different. She couldn't seem to place it, though.

She laughed to herself.

' _That baka is actually worried about me walking around the village myself at night? He should know better than anyone that I can take care of myself.'_

Sakura turned and faced the blond ninja.

"No, no." She said as she turned away again.

"You should sleep, I'll be fine by myself." She let her voice waiver at the end to make it sound like she wasn't too sure that she could.

The Hero of the Leaf grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. He spun her so quickly that she felt a little dizzy.

"Don't be ridiculous, Sakura-chan." She was about to say something but his smile interrupted her.

"There is no way that I'd let you walk there by yourself in the middle of the night." His eyes seemed so bright they seemed to shine. It was like it was the most serious thing in the world to him. The pink haired ninja tilted her head slightly trying to figure out why he was so concerned about her walking alone at night, he did realize that she was a jonin, right? She could take care of herself. He smiled his famous Naruto smile as she looked down from his eyes.

Damn, she thought, her brain finally realizing it now. Naruto was standing in front of her, he wasn't wearing a shirt. Her eyes fixated on his chest, had he always been that muscular? She thought to herself. The pink haired ninja had no idea why she couldn't turn her eyes away. Her eyes mentally traced his pecs and his abs before stopping at the waistband of his boxers. She froze.

' _His boxers! Oh, shit!'_ She mentally screamed to herself, Naruto was standing in front of her in nothing but his boxers.

"Sakura-chan?" The blond asked questionably, beginning to worry.

"Are you alright? Your face is all red." On his face grew the face of worry.

"Are you getting sick, Sakura-chan?" The blond stepped closer to her and leaned in placing the back of his hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.

' _Oh crap!'_ Sakuran yelled to herself in her mind. She had gotten distracted staring at his chest and now she was blushing. Sakura was about to open her mouth to speak when the blond moved forward and placed the back of his hand on her forehead. She couldn't move, she couldn't think, his large muscular arm was inches away from her face, she could smell his sweat, and it seemed put her at ease, which worried her, I mean, this is Naruto, he's her best friend, she's not supposed to look at him that way. She looked at him, he was a full foot taller than her now after his growth spurt, but he bent his neck and back down to be at eye level with her.

She stared into his cerulean blue eyes and seemed to be stuck in a trance. For some reason whenever she looked into his eyes she felt a wave of calmness wash over her. But now she could feel her heart rate increase slightly as she gazed into his eyes.

' _What the hell is wrong with me?_ ' She thought, breaking herself out of her trance.

' _This is Naruto, why am I staring at him like a drooling schoolgirl? Like one of his many fangirls.'_ She thought, disgusted at the very thought of them. Ever since he had saved the world, Naruto has had a group of girls that chase him around the village nonstop and ask for autographs, pictures, dates, you name it. Not that the oblivious blond ever noticed them or their intentions, he just thought that they were being nice to him. Having a rough childhood he always accepted everyone around him. The pink haired ninja didn't know why but those girls really got on her nerves.

She managed to pull away from the blond ninja in front of here and stepped back, breaking out of her trance and realizing that Naruto was uncomfortably close, she reacted on instinct and threw a punch.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled as she swung as hard as she could at him and sent him through the wall and into the alley below.

"Crap." She said to the air around her. She didn't mean to punch him that hard, or even at all, come to think of it. It was just a reaction as her mind snapped back into reality.

"Naruto?" She yelled out into the alley, through the Naruto shaped hole his wall now sported.

"Are you okay?" She jumped down to her friend who was now four inches deep into the pavement.

The blond hero tried to get up but his body was punched with such force that he was inside of the sidewalk in the alleyway.

"Sa-ku-ra-chan." He managed.

"Why-, why did you hit me? What-, what did I do?" His eyes looked so pained and so hurt. It made her heart stop. He had no idea why she had just punched him. To him she punched him because he asked if she was sick.

"Sakura-chan," His voice low and in pain.

"I'm sorry, what did I do? Did you hit me because I asked if you were sick?" She looked down to him and was about to say that he was being ridiculous but he spoke before she could.

"I-, I was just seeing if you had a fever. I just wanted to help you since you were sick, I was going to help you home. I'm sorry." Her mind registered the emotions in his voice at the end, he said 'sorry' with so much emotion that to him it must have been the most important thing he had ever apologized for. The pink haired girl blushed at the fact that her best friend was so concerned about her health. She looked down to him and reached out her hand and he hesitated for a brief second before he grabbed it.

' _Why did I punch him?'_ She asked herself.

' _Great, now he's under the impression that I am mad at him for being nice to me.'_

"I'm sorry, Naruto." She said as she started to brush the dust and dirt off of him.

"I didn't mean to punch you, you just startled me, that's all, it was just a reaction, I'm sorry." It wasn't a complete lie, she was distracted by the sight of him without a shirt. Her eyes widened as she looked to her hands. They were on his bare chest, she was holding his pecs in her hands as he breathed in and out trying to catch his breath from being punched through a brick wall and into the pavement. She pulled her hands away quickly and was shocked that he didn't seem to notice. He just stared at her with a serious look that looked strange on his usual happy face.

"What?" She asked the blond. His look was intense, not at all like his usual appearance.

He lightly grabbed her shoulders.

"Did-, did I scare you or something, Sakura-chan?" The blond looked into the eyes of his teammate, his eyes full of worry. In the blink of an eye the blond bowed his head to her in apology, raising his hands in a praying position as well.

"Sakura-chan," the blond started, his face facing down towards the ground.

"I am so sorry. I- I didn't mean to scare you, I am really sorry. You gotta believe me." The pink haired ninja stood and stared as the Hero of the Leaf, who was considered the most powerful ninja in the world, begged for forgiveness with his head bowed in front of her. It startled her, Naruto was being so serious.

"You know that I'd never try to scare you, I am so sorry, Sakura-chan. I am so sorry." Sakura stared at the blond ninja, unable to speak.

' _Why is he acting like this?'_ She asked herself.

' _Why is he making such a big deal about scaring me? He does know that he doesn't need to apologize right, he didn't do anything.'_

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." He continued over and over, his face still facing the ground and his hands raised as if praying to her.

Sakura looked down to the powerful ninja begging for forgiveness before her and smiled to herself.

' _He's always been like this.'_ She thought.

' _Naruto is considered a hero by the whole ninja world, yet he never let it go to his head. He still acts like he always has and talks to his friends like usual._ '

But the girl couldn't figure out why he was begging with his head bowed in front of her. She had just hit him and now he's begging for forgiveness about scaring her, why? She thought to herself for a few seconds and couldn't come to a reason why he was acting this way.

The pink haired ninja smiled to the the ninja bowing before her and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Naruto. You didn't scare me, you just startled me by moving so fast. Don't worry about it, okay?" The blond looked up to her and his smile returned to his face as if he was relieved.

"I'm sorry for punching you, I really am. I didn't mean to hurt you. Now, come on, we have to get to the Hokage's Tower. We're late."

The blond turned and started walking down the alley.

"Come on, Sakura-chan, I'll walk you there." The pink haired ninja was about to smile at his gentlemanly actions but realized something which made her face turn a bright shade of pink. Good thing she was covered by shadows so he couldn't see her face. Naruto was still only wearing his boxers, now he was calmly walking down the street as if nothing was wrong with that. The female ninja quickly ran over to him and punched him again, sending him into another wall.

"Put on some clothes, _baka_! And don't go prancing around naked in front of me, it's not decent!"

XxxxxXxxxxX

***Author's Note***

 _ ***NEW***_

If you are reading this for the second time after I re-uploaded this chapter please let me know what you think of the small changes I made. I noticed that there was a massive amount of people reading the first chapter but not going on to the second. I'm trying to fix this story that people will be able to enjoy it in the beginning as much as they do in the later chapters.

Back to the old Note…

Thanks for reading, please leave a Review, PM me, Follow or Favorite if you like the story so far. In regards to Naruto earning the title "Kitsune Kage" I just want to say that if anyone happens to look it up in Google translate that I got "A Fox's Stink" as the result. However Kitsune Kage literally means Fox Shadow or Shadow of the Fox, so if you looked it up I just wanted you to know that I wasn't wrong and being stupid and hadn't looked it up.

I am currently working on my second story in my series for Animorphs, if you happen to like Animorphs then please do me the honor and check it out.

Thanks, Hephaestus.


	2. Ch2: The Mission Is Revealed

Chapter 2

Replies to my reviews:

DragonPony022 - Thanks for such the long review. I replied to yours so I hope that you see it.

Aevrum - Thank you for the review. I have replied to yours so please look for it.

Guest - About your question regarding lemons, I haven't yet decided how far I'll take the sexual parts in this story. I plan on having them in there, that's why I rated it M. But I have never written something that is just blatantly lemons, so I might just gradually lean into it more and more with each time I do it. Now don't expect lemons every chapter, this is not that kind of story. But like I said I am planning on having at least a little of it in here. Please let me know in the future if you have any thoughts on it.

 *****Author's Note*****

I want to thank you all for the sheer amount of views, reviews, follows and favorites I got so fast. As the time of writing this it has been a full day since I uploaded it. I had no idea how many people would be interested in my story. I was planning on just letting it sit for a few days and see if anyone happened to read it. I was more than shocked to wake up and see twentyone emails from FanFiction for all of the reviews, follows and favorites I got. Thank you all again for reading this story, this is the fastest any of my stories have gotten this many views, it's still blowing my mind. We are at 210 views in just one full day, that beats out any of my other stories so far. Thank you all.

 *****Peer Editor Wanted*****

If anyone would like to help read through my stories and check for plot, spelling and grammar before I upload them then please PM me and let me know. I'd really appreciate the help, it's good to get someone elses opinion on your content.

 *****In Regards To The First Chapter*****

I received two reviews commenting on how they felt about Sakura's behavior when she hit him and when he was begging for forgiveness. I just want to start off by saying that I wasn't trying to imply an abusive relationship or anything, and the reason for Naruto's behavior will be explained later on. I have since rewritten a few parts of the story and explained my ideas and the story better and uploaded the revised chapter yesterday. If anyone has any other thoughts about the first chapter then please let me know and I'll reply.

 *****Note*****

"Used for spoken dialogue"

'Used for inner dialogue'

' _Used for secondary dialogue, as in inner Sakura_ '

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Chapter 2

A knock was heard on the Hokage's door as everyone in the room turned to it.

"Come in." Kakashi, the sixth Hokage said with authority in his voice. The door opened to reveal the pink and blond haired ninjas nursing the blonds swollen cheek.

"It's about time you two arrived, I-" The Copy ninja stopped as he saw Sakura healing Naruto's face with her chakra. "What happened to you? Did you run into the Mizukage again?" The Hokage was referencing to the time when the Mizukage kidnapped Naruto and attempted to force him to marry her. She ended up beating him up when he kindly refused.

"He probably said something stupid again and she punched him for it." The beautiful blonde ninja remarked, giving Naruto a look his way.

"You're most likely right, Ino." Temari of the Sand said. "He's never learned to think before he speaks." The two girls laughed with each other.

The blond hero of the Leaf walked to the middle of the group. "I didn't do anything!" He announced. "Sakura-chan just punched me after I startled her, she already apologized." He said this last part with a smile on his face and placed his arms behind his head.

The group looked to the blond and back to Sakura who was still trying to heal his face with her healing chakra. "Don't move around, Naruto. I'm still trying to bring the swelling down. And keep from talking so much, it'll help it heal faster." The pink haired ninja didn't respond to anyone except him.

The silver haired Hokage looked at the two ninjas in front of him. He noted to himself that Sakura was a high level jounin, and that Naruto shouldn't be able to just startle her like that. He thought to himself for a second before he dropped it, it wasn't his business. "Enough of that." He said, getting everyone's attention. "I'm sorry for calling all of you here so early but we have just received a high ranking mission requested from the Feudal Lord himself." This caught the attention of everyone in the room. The others stopped talking and Sakura stopped healing Naruto's face momentarily to listen. This was big news, the Feudal Lord very rarely requested a mission himself, in fact, he rarely ever did anything at all. "The Feudal Lord and his advisors have been looking into a smuggling ring for the past several months. This smuggling ring is buying, selling and trading in illegal weapons as well as drugs. For months now they have been watching them and their accounts, but have finally gotten a lead as to where the buyers and sellers are using as their cover. They believe that the Howaitosanzu Private Resort and Spa is being used as the cover for their illegal operations. That is where you all come in, the Feudal Lord himself asked me to put together a team consisting of the best ninja in our village. You should all consider it a great honor to be selected for this mission."

The beautiful blonde stepped closer to the desk. "What would be the purpose of our mission, Kakashi sensei? Will we be going in to shut it down by force? You said that the Feudal Lord asked for our best ninjas, are we going in for a fight?" The blonde woman turned and gestured to Naruto. "Not to be rude, Kakashi sensei, but if the mission is to just break in and stop their organization then wouldn't it be easier to just send Naruto in by himself with some ANBU like last time? Surely he has the firepower needed to stop whatever ninjas he runs into." The Hokage looked to Ino, she was referring to the past few missions that Naruto was sent on. Ever since he saved the world and earned the title of Kitsune Kage from the Feudal Lords, Naruto's missions have consisted of him walking into any enemy camp or village, declaring who he is, having half of the ninjas there surrender on the spot and then fight the remainders by himself or have an ANBU team capture them. Naruto has been the Land of Fire's ultimate weapon, wherever they sent him the ninjas there would fear his sheer power and give up without a fight on most occasions.

The silver haired ninja looked to the blond hero and smiled under his mask. He has really grown up, he thought to himself. He is no longer that annoying stubborn little brat that he used to be. He is turning into a great ninja and a good man. The Hokage was proud of his blond student, proud of his actions during the war as well as proud of the man he was turning out to be. "That would generally be the case, Ino. However, this is not that type of mission. This will be an infiltration mission, requiring stealth, cunning and deception. This is not at all like the missions you are all used to fighting since the war has ended, this will not be a direct fight. This will be a recon mission, you will be going in to infiltrate, observe and report. Unless absolutely necessary there will not be any fighting on this mission."

The hero looked to the Hokage and frowned. "Kakashi sensei, are you saying that I'm not able to do this mission by myself? I can do stealth, cunning and deception." The beautiful blonde haired kunoichi laughed.

"Let's just say Naruto, that cunning is not your strong suit." The others in the room except Naruto and Kakashi laughed.

Sai joined in. "Yes, Naruto is quite dumb." The blond ninja turned to him and raised his fist.

"What did you say, Sai? Wanna start something?" Naruto was just about to step towards him when the pink haired ninja pulled on his ear, forcing him to turn back around.

"Shut up, Naruto." Sakura glared. "Pay attention to Kakashi sensei. And I told you to stop talking, or I won't finish healing your cheek."

"But I-" The blond hero started but was cut off by a feeling of killing intent towards him and he stopped.

The Hokage turned towards the blond hero. "Naruto, I am not saying that you aren't a powerful ninja on your own, but this mission has been asked to be a group mission by the Feudal Lord's advisors. Besides," The silver haired ninja stopped to smile under his mask, as he knew the subject and unique situation of this mission. "It would be suspicious for you to go to the resort alone, that is why you are all being split into pairs." This caught the attention of the blond hero, hopefully he'd be teamed up with Sakura. "My advisors and I have gone over it and decided that the best course of action would be to have you split into pairs and act as couples to infiltrate the resort as guests." Kakashi watched as the teens squirmed when they heard this news, this is why there were three males and three females for this mission. He smiled to himself under his mask, Lady Fifth had come up with the idea of sending them in as couples, she said that it'd be fun to watch them squirm and be nervous around each other, she was correct.

The teens looked at each other subtly as they were trying not to blush and show any emotion. While Naruto had a huge grin on his face as he looked in the direction of Sakura.

The Hokage cleared his throat to get their attention. "It's time to go over the mission parameters. You will be split up into teams of two, one guy and one girl, where you will act as couples to go to the resort incognito as rich and powerful young couples. Where you will gain the trust of the other vacationers and the staff, including the manager, and enter their ring and gather information for us to use to prosecute them. Once in, you will observe and report on your findings. This resort is a special one, in which it requires a cruise ship to reach that only sails every thirty days to and from the island. So once in the resort you will be on your own for the remainder of the mission with no communications to us or anyone else. Furthermore, as well-known ninjas you will all be going in undercover. Your identities have already been selected, as are all of your supplies and clothing needed for the mission. You will find them at the hotel you will be staying at for the night until the ship arrives the next morning."

"Lord Hokage." The sand Shinobi stepped forwards. "Why was I called for this mission? I am not a ninja of the Leaf."

The black haired genius of the Leaf's faced twitched. He was in the advisor's meeting and knew the prearranged couples for the mission. 'She's definitely going to kill me by the end of the mission,' he thought. 'What a drag.'

"Temari, please." Kakashi started. "Drop the 'Lord', call me Kakashi sensei. In regards to your question, you have been selected for this mission because of your history with this team and the fact that you work well with everyone here." The Hokage watched Shikamaru's face, he didn't see any reaction on his face, however he knew that Shikamaru was reacting to it in his head.

"Who are the couples going to be, Kakashi sensei?" The beautiful blonde asked. Secretly hoping to be paired with Naruto, she's had a slight crush on the young handsome ninja ever since after the war. "Are we going to pick them ourselves?" A smile shot across her face as the thought of spending a month with Naruto on an island resort. So romantic, she thought to herself.

The Hokage held up a hand, causing her smile to fade away. "My advisor's and I have given that a lot of thought, because of the _unique_ situation for this mission we carefully paired everyone together based on how well they would work together and their history working together." The blonde grew upset upon hearing this, no doubt Naruto and Sakura would be paired together, they've been working together for years. If that were the case then her and Shikamaru were bound to be teamed up since they've been on a team just as long as Naruto and Sakura.

"Kakashi sensei." The pink haired ninja spoke. "What do you mean by _unique_ situation? What's so unique about this mission?" The Hokage smiled, Sakura was always one to catch on quickly.

"Well," The Hokage started, not really knowing how to tell them this he decided to tell it to them straight. "This resort is a well-known luxurious couples resort. Meaning that for the entire one month span of this mission you will be living with each other in the same suite." He paused before the next part, this is going to make them squirm, he thought. "Living with each other in the same suite and be sleeping with each other in the same bed." As soon as the words left his mouth the girls in the room erupted.

"You can't do that!" Ino yelled.

"What do you mean that we have to sleep in the same bed, Kakashi sensei?" Sakura asked, her face red from blushing and anger. "Why can't we have the boys sleep on the floor? Why do we have to share the same bed?" Her eyes drifted to Naruto who was smiling as if he had won the lottery. 'I don't want to share the same bed with him,' she yelled to herself. ' _Why?'_ Asked her inner Sakura. ' _He's cute, besides, it's not like you two haven't shared a bed before.'_ 'That was a completely different situation,' she replied to herself. It was when he was in the hospital, besides, it didn't mean anything. He didn't have a problem with it and neither did she.

"Now, now." The Hokage said, raising up his hands, trying to calm the two girls down. "I don't mean that you have to literally have to sleep in the same bed, I meant that you will have to live together and share the room you will be living in for the entire month long mission. However, as these suites are for couples, there is only one bed per room. That is why my advisor's and I took a lot of care into selecting the couples for this mission, we wanted to make sure that the couples in question could work well together as well as be able to act as a young, in love couple and be able to live together for a month without killing each other." The last statement caught the attention of the teens.

"Kakashi sensei," The blond hero started. "What do you mean without killing each other? It shouldn't be that hard living with each other for a month." His eyes drifted to Sakura, who he was sure he was going to be paired with.

The Hokage looked to Naruto and Sakura. 'He's going to hate me for this,' he sighed to himself.

"I'm going to announce the pairs acting as couples for this mission." The Hokage said, not answering Naruto. "Temari, you asked why you were selected for this mission?" She nodded to the Hokage. "That is because you will be paired up with Shikamaru, as you two have worked with each other before and I trust that there will be no problems between you two as you are both more than mature enough to handle this mission." The Hokage had to stop himself from laughing, it was Lady Fifth that told him who to pair up. She planned to pair the couples up to help them fall in love with each other. He didn't know how this plan was going to pan out but hoped that it would at least help the couples got over their nervous feelings and see that they liked each other. Watching the couples being oblivious to their own feelings for so long has started to get on the older generations nerves. Lady Tsunade in particular likes messing with the minds of the young, love struck ninjas.

The two ninja in question looked to each other without any emotion while trying to hold back their worries from showing. Shikamaru believes that she will drive him crazy and eventually kill him by the end of the mission and Temari holds back a blush as she has recently started to have a crush on him, while never telling him or letting it show. The shinobi of the Sand is secretly happy to hear that she'd be paired with Shikamaru.

"As for the second couple, er, I mean pair." The silver haired ninja continued. "The next pair will consist of Sakura and Sai." Everyone in the room besides Shikamaru was shocked. Naruto let out a disapproving loud sigh and Ino had to stop herself from fistpumping the air in delight. 'Yes,' she screamed to herself. 'I'm going to be alone in a resort suite with Naruto for a whole month! I'll finally be able to make my move and use my feminine charms on him and make him mine! Yes!' The copy ninja continued. "That of course means that the last pair will consist of Naruto and Ino." The young blond hero was devastated. 'Why wasn't I paired up with Sakura-chan?' He asked himself. 'This mission could have been the perfect opportunity to show her how much I love her. Damn you, Kakashi sensei!' He yelled inside his head. 'You're doing this on purpose aren't you?'

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled as he stepped towards him angrily. "Why aren't I with Sakura-chan?" The blonde kunoichi yelled from behind him.

"What, do you have a problem with teaming up with me, Naruto?" Ino yelled. The young hero shook his head, telling her no. 'Please don't tell me that he actually wants to share a room with billboard brow.' She studied Sakura next to her. 'I'm much more beautiful than her.' She looked down to her features. 'I'm way more attractive than her! We're going to be spending a whole month together in the same room, he should be thankful to be able to spend that much time with me alone.' She turned back to Naruto. 'Damn you, Naruto, you're completely oblivious how beautiful I am. But wait until we are at the resort, I'll show you just how much of a woman I am. The resort is at a beach, and a beach means swimsuits. Just you wait, Naruto, once you see me in my bikini you won't be able to stop yourself.' The blonde's fantasies were cut off by an angry Sakura.

"Kakashi sensei. Why am I with Sai? And why not Naruto?" 'Why am I so mad at not being with Naruto?' She asked herself. 'With Sai I don't have to worry about him doing anything stupid or perverted while we share a room.' Her inner Sakura spoke up. ' _Do you really want that pig spending time with Naruto alone?'_ She asked. ' _What if she tries to sleep with him.'_ She said bluntly. 'She'd never do that.' Sakura replied to herself. ' _Are you stupid?'_ Inner Sakura shot back. ' _You know that she's been hinting at the fact that she has a crush on him for months now. You heard her at the bath house. She said that she was planning on trying to sleep with him on his birthday. That's next week!'_ Once she realized this, Sakura couldn't think. 'There's no way in hell that I'm going to let that pig use my best friend like that. She doesn't even really like him, she just thinks he's hot.'

"To answer your questions, Naruto, Sakura." The Hokage started. "My advisor's and I decided that in the interest of keeping a low profile it would be easier for Sakura to be paired with Sai, as with Naruto being with Ino. That is what I meant by saying that we selected the pairings so that the teams won't kill each other." Kakashi sighed to himself. Lady Tsunade had planned for Sakura to be teamed with Naruto but he and a few other advisors said that it would be too risky for them to be paired up. 'It is painfully obvious to everyone except Sakura that Naruto is deeply in love with her. With that it would be risky as Naruto might do something stupid and Sakura might over react and end up blowing their cover.' Kakashi looked to the pair. 'I'm sorry, Naruto, I want to help you with Sakura as much as I can but the mission comes first.'

"What do you mean by that, Kakashi sensei?" The young hero blurted out. "Sakura-chan and I work great together, we've teamed up on hundreds of missions." The silver haired Hokage was about to answer him when Sai spoke up.

"Can I be paired up with Naruto, Kakashi sensei?" The pale ninja asked, wanting to be with his friend.

"Hell no!" Naruto responded. "This is a resort for couples, Sai!"

"I am aware of that, Naruto. I read in a book that when two people become very close that they can become a couple. Do you want to become a couple with me?"

The blond hero's face went white as a sheet. "What the hell is your problem, Sai?" The room erupted in laughter. "A couple is supposed to be a guy and a girl." Naruto continued.

"But I have heard that two-" Naruto cut the pale ninja off.

'Shut up! You don't get it. I want to be with Sakura-chan, not you." The room silenced at Naruto's remark. It was obvious to everyone but Sakura what he meant.

' _Did you hear that?'_ Inner Sakuran cried out. ' _He wants to be with us, I told you that he likes us.'_ 'No he doesn't,' Sakura replied quickly. 'He just doesn't want to be with Sai because he doesn't get the whole couples thing.' The pink haired girl looked to Naruto in front of her. 'He doesn't think of me that way, besides, we're just friends. Best friends and very close but that's as far as it goes.' It seemed obvious to Sakura that if Naruto actually had feelings for her like he said he did when they were kids that he'd say it again. But most likely it would just be the same as back then, a silly crush he used to try to get her attention. Now that they're best friends he's dropped the act and is acting like a normal friend. Not even referencing how he used to say he liked her. 'It's kind of a shame though,' Sakura thought to herself. 'He's always so nice and so kind to me, if only he still thought that way about me. I'd probably agree to one date just to see how it goes and use it to thank him for everything he's done for me over the years.' Her inner Sakura responded. ' _Then why don't you just ask him?'_ 'I can't do that,' Sakura responded quickly. 'It'd be too embarrassing, what would everyone think? What would Ino think? She's always harassing me about it, saying that Naruto likes me, but she's only saying that to get on my nerves. Besides,' She sighed to herself. 'Naruto doesn't think that way about me, never really has, never will. No one ever will. I'm just some ugly, flat, large foreheaded girl. Why would he like me when every other girl in the village, including Ino, is trying to get in his pants? If only he weren't so oblivious he'd be dating one of them by now.' The pink haired ninja was shook from her thoughts by the Hokage's voice.

"Enough messing around, everyone." He stood and handed a scroll to Shikamaru. "We are low on time. Go, pack any personal items and report to the main gate in one hour. But travel light, as we have supplies and clothes for you for the mission already packed for you." With that the silver haired Hokage dismissed the ninjas leaving Shikamaru behind with the Hokage.

XxxxxXxxxxX

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***Author's Note***

Thank you all for taking your time in reading this story. After seeing how well my first chapter was received I have spent almost my entire day working on revising the first chapter and writing this one. I am so into writing this story that I have already started the next chapter before uploading this. So expect another chapter not before long.

Please leave a **Review** , **Favorite** and **Follow** , it really helps out to show me how you guys like my stories and really makes my day.

Please let me know how long you guys would like the chapters in the future.

Also please let me know if you have any problems with any of my versions of the characters, wordings or plot. I take all constructive criticism so please let me know, it really helps.

Thanks again for reading, Hephaestus


	3. Ch3: Ino's Plan

***Author's Note***

Thank you all for reading and for all of you who Favorited and Followed my story, it means a lot. Please leave a review or PM me with any thought os comments about my story. I take all constructive criticism.

If anyone would be interested in helping me by reading through my stories before I upload them I'd really appreciate it. Let me know if you are.

***Note***

"Used for spoken dialogue"

'Used for inner dialogue'

' _Used for secondary dialogue, as in inner Sakura or Shikamaru_ '

Thank you to Aevrum, dbzgtfan2004, Yojimbra, and Guest for reviewing my last chapter and giving me ideas and advice to make my story better.

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Chapter 3

"I knew that he wouldn't take that well." The silver haired ninja said to the Nara heir.

"Well what did you expect," The genius of the Leaf replied. "You just told Naruto that he couldn't go to a private resort with the love of his life. Of course he is upset."

"Is that why you're in such a good mood about being paired with Temari?" The Hokage watched as Shikamaru squirmed and fumbled with the scroll in his hand when he heard this.

"No, no! I mean, yes, er, I mean-" The young ninja was fumbling with his words. It was so out of character that the Hokage laughed.

"Well you're welcome, Shikamaru." The Hokage gave a smirk under his mask. "Because it was I who came up with pairing you and her for this mission."

"Wait, I thought that Lady Fifth and the other advisor's helped you select them before I arrived. It was your idea to have Temari to team up with me?"

Shikamaru went over it in his mind. 'Maybe it's a good thing that I'll be teamed up with her. I mean we work well together and I know that she won't mind.'

' _That's because she likes you.'_ His mind replied back. 'No she doesn't,' he quickly responded to himself.

'We have a strictly work related relationship, besides, she scares the hell out of me.' Shikamaru was pulled back into reality as he heard the Hokage calling him.

"Shikamaru? Hey, Shikamaru, you okay?" The silver haired Hokage asked. Clearly noting that his powerful mind just stopped at the mention of her name. He smiled to himself, this was going to be easier than he thought.

XxxxxXxxxxX

Ino, Sakura and Temari were walking with each other back to their houses when the beautiful blonde spoke up, catching their attention. "You two don't know how relieved I was when I heard that I was paired up with Naruto." This surprised the other two, they had been talking about what they were going to bring on the mission when Ino suddenly said that. "I was certain that he'd be teamed up with you, billboard brow." Ino gave a friendly smile to her rival.

"Why are you happy to be with that moron?" Temari of the sand asked.

"Because she wants to sleep with him." Sakura let slip before she was able to stop herself.

"Sakura!" The blonde kunoichi spoke with a hushed tone while trying not to blush. "Don't just say it like that, you make it sound like I'm a bad person and that's all I want. I want to start dating him, the sleeping with him part is just a side benefit." She winked. The blonde was blushing and swaying her hips back and forth, trying not to fall over as she walked.

"Oh, I heard about that from Tenten." The Sand shinobi stated. "But why do you want to be with Naruto? I mean, he's good looking and all but he's really dense. You could hint at the fact that you like him all your life and he wouldn't notice. I've seen how some of the girls in this village throw themselves at him, he doesn't even seem to notice."

"It's because he's Naruto." Sakura said. "Growing up as he did no one liked him, no one could stand him, and now all the girls around him are falling for him. What do you expect? He doesn't think that anyone will ever love him." The pink haired ninja sighed to herself.

'I feel bad for that knucklehead, he deserves someone perfect for him for how terrible his life had been growing up. Now actually finding that person was the hard part.'

"He's not the only one who doesn't think anyone will love them." The blonde hinted at her friend who didn't seem to notice. While Temari gave the pink haired girl a quick smile.

"So Ino," Temari continued. "Why do you wanna be with Naruto? I thought that you couldn't stand him as a kid."

The beautiful blonde turned her head to face Temari. "No one could stand Naruto back then. But now, ever since after Pain and the war he was grown up and matured so much. In more ways than one, if you catch my meaning." She laughed to herself as Temari tried not to think about Naruto in that way as Sakura was starting to get angry with her rival. "I mean, have you seen him at the bath house? I had to stop myself from sneaking in and watching him bathe like a pervert." She placed her hands to her face and blushed. "He's built like a god from all of his constant training, and don't even get me started on his signature smile. It makes me weak at the knees every time I see it."

"Is what Sakura said true, Ino?" Temari asked, a little curious of her answer and feeling in the mood to gossip. "Are you actually going to try to use the mission to get him to sleep with you?"

The beautiful blonde blushed. "Of course." She replied quickly. "This mission is going to be the perfect situation to seduce him with my beautiful body and get him to fall for me. We're going to be at a private resort on the beach. That and the fact that we're going to share the same room and bed I'll have more than enough opportunities to use my feminine wiles on him and make him mine."

"You're going to actually let him share a bed with you?" Temari asked, thinking about how her and Shikamaru were going to work that out. "What are you going to tell him? Are you going to just come out and tell him that?" The Sand kunoichi inquired.

"Of course not." The blond responded. "That'd make me sound desperate and shallow."

"Then what are you going to tell him? How are you going to get him to actually sleep with you? Like I said, he's not exactly the smartest guy in the world."

Ino gave a sly smile. "I'm going to tell him it's a birthday present, then when we're done he'll have no choice but to fall for me."

"Wow." Temari said, taken back by Ino's words. "You've really thought this out, haven't you?" Not being able to decide if that was a good thing or not.

The group stopped at Sakura's house and the two continued their conversation, much to Sakura's dismay. "Of course," Ino replied. "You don't just rush these things, you have to take your time with them. I've been planning to use that plan with his birthday for months now." The pink haired ninja was almost fed up with her rival talking about her best friend that way when Ino put the icing on top of the cake. "I can't wait to see the looks on all of the girls faces in the village when we come back from the mission and I'm draped around Naruto's arm. It'll make them all so jealous, they won't be able to stand it. I'll be the talk of the town, the girl who's dating the most powerful ninja in the world. I'll be a celebrity for it. I'd be able to get any guy after I date him for awhile and I dump him." The pink haired medical ninja had heard enough, she was through letting Ino plan on using Naruto for her own benefit.

"Are you serious, Ino?" The pink haired ninja yelled after being silent for awhile. "You're just going to use him for awhile then just toss him aside when you're done with him like he's garbage?" She was furious.

'How dare she talk about Naruto like that! Naruto is the nicest and most well meaning person I know. It'll crush him when he finally thinks that someone loves him and Ino dumps him for someone else.' Sakura got in the blonde's face.

"How can you even consider doing that to Naruto?" The pink haired ninja demanded. "You know as well as I do how his life was like growing up. All he wants is for someone to love him, he's never had that before! He's never had felt the feeling of having someone love and care for him. How can you stand yourself for wanting to just use him like that?"

Temari was shocked and Ino immediately got angry. "Don't say it like I'm anything different than any other girl out there. Girls use popular guys all the time to help them get other popular guys. It's nothing rare. And besides," She gave her rival a sideways look. "I don't see you dating him, maybe you should since you obviously like him so much!" The two girls were fuming and ready to come to blows when Temari stepped in.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down you two." She stepped in between them and they both attempted to kill her with their glares, but the Sand kunoichi didn't flinch. "Ino, Sakura's right, you shouldn't just use a guy just to pick up other guys. That's just wrong." Temari turned to Sakura. "And you shouldn't get so worked up about it either. I know that it's not right but you have to give Naruto some credit, he knows when a girl is pretending to like him. He's not that oblivious. He'd catch on and stop the relationship right then and there."

'Temari's right,' Sakura thought to herself. 'Naruto has always been able to tell when someone was pretending to like him or to love him. Hell,' she thought to herself. 'He was able to immediately tell that I was lying when I confessed my 'true' feelings to him in the land of Iron. God,' Sakura thought. 'I make myself sick just remembering that, I lied to him straight to his face. I actually told him that I loved him to use his feelings for my benefit. I'm no better than Ino.'

The pink haired ninja turned to walk to her door before speaking. Her voice was low and filled with emotion. "Naruto is a hero, not only for stopping the war but for everything he has done for this village and for us, what he has done for _me_." Sakura tried to keep her emotions in check but it was a lost cause, she was beginning to tear up. "And he deserves far better than to be used by other people. He's not a simple _weapon_ or a _tool_ to be used and simply thrown away. He deserves far better than we can ever give him. I-, we, could never pay him back for everything he's done for us. He deserves better than I can ever give him." The pink haired ninja turned to the pair, her face covered in tears. "Whatever I do for him, it will never be enough." Without another word she turned from her friends and climbed the stairs to her door.

The two ninjas looked to each other in silence for a few seconds. "Did she just-" The Sand shinobi trailed off, not finishing her thought.

"Yeah, she did." The blonde ninja replied. "She just admitted to herself that she cares for him and wants to thank him for everything he's done for her."

"Do you think that she knows that she just said that?" Temari ask Ino.

"No." She replied simply. "She has no idea what he means to her. And no idea what she means to him."

XxxxxXxxxxX

The pink haired ninja entered her house as her parents were getting up for the day. She was supposed to tell them that she was leaving but she remained silent and oblivious to them.

'Why was Ino acting like that?' She asked to herself as she began to pack her bags. 'Didn't she know how sensitive Naruto was to that sort of thing? He's never felt the love of a parent His entire life he's been craving to be loved and accepted by the world. They accept him now since he saved the world but he still doesn't know what it feels like to be truly loved.' Sakura thought of all of the girls throwing themselves at him recently. 'Why hasn't he started to date any of them? If only he wasn't oblivious to them, surely one of them out there could give him the love that he wants and deserves.' She turned to see her photo of team seven. Naruto is one of my oldest friends, we're as close as two friends could get. And she justs wants him to be happy.

'There is no way in hell that I'd let that pig just use him like that.' Sakura stopped, knowing exactly what she needed to do she packed her bag and headed to the Hokage's Tower.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The pink haired ninja was knocking on the Hokage's door before she knew what she was doing. "Come in." The Hokage called behind the door.

The Hokage was surprised to see it was Sakura who was coming to see him, he half expected it to be Naruto. "Sakura, what a surprise. What can we do for you?"

The pink haired girl looked from Shikamaru who sat in his own smaller desk in the corner of the room to Kakashi. "Kakashi sensei," the girl started, not exactly sure what she was going to say. "May I ask for a request?" She bowed respectfully to the Hokage, showing him that she was serious.

The silver haired ninja looked skeptical. "And what exactly would that be, Sakura?"

"I-, I would like to request switching my partner for this mission, Kakashi sensei. I want to be paired up with Naruto."

The Hokage was surprised to hear this. Surely she'd rather want to share the same room as Sai, with him she didn't have to worry that he'd do anything stupid like try to peek at her. "Are you sure, Sakura?"

The girl nodded silently.

"We both know how Naruto can be, my advisors and I had split you two up because we were worried that he would cause you to be uncomfortable. You are aware that you two will be sharing the same suite for an entire month? As well as playing the part of a young dating couple? Are you sure that you'd be comfortable with doing that?" The Hokage wanted Sakura to realize Naruto's feeling as much as anyone. He wants Naruto to be able to be with the love of his life. However he knows their complicated history, skeptical that it would actually happen. However he wants Naruto and Sakura to get together as he truly believes that it would make them both happy. They just need to gather the courage to tell the other how they feel. Everyone who knows Naruto knows that he always puts other people's happiness and needs before his own. He knows that Naruto will let himself live his entire life without telling Sakura how he feels if he felt that it would hurt her or their friendship.

"Before I come up with my decision, may I ask why you wish to be paired with Naruto rather than Sai?"

"The pink haired girl blushed. "It's just that I'd rather team up with Naruto as we've been working with each other for years. I'm just more comfortable around Naruto." The Hokage's ear picked up at this.

"What do you mean, more comfortable? Wouldn't it be more comfortable to be with Sai as we both know that he won't do anything inappropriate as Naruto might?"

The pink haired ninja looked to the hokage trying not to imagine Naruto trying to take a peek at her in the bath like he used to as a kid. He hadn't done that in years, he's grown up since then. She smiled. "I trust him, Kakashi sensei." The female ninja said without missing a beat. "He's not the same little pervert he used to be. He have shared a room countless times on missions before, without any problems." Sakura thought to what Ino had said about her plan for Naruto while once at the resort. "There is no way I'd let Ino try anything with him. Besides, I don't mind spending time with him." The girl mumbled to herself. The Hokage smiled to himself under his mask. She hadn't realized that she had said that last part out loud.

XxxxxXxxxxX

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***Author's Note***

Thank you all for taking your time reading my stories, it means a lot. If you have any thought, ideas, questions, concerns, notes or anything of that matter, then please let me know in a Review or PM me. This has been my third chapter upload in three days, please do not get used to a new chapter everyday. I'd love to but with my work schedule I just can't.

Thanks, Hephaestus


	4. Ch4: Inner Thoughts

Chapter 4

***Author's Note***

Thank you all for reading. Thank you to **EziogreatNaruto** for your comment on my last chapter. I replied to you so please look for it and reply with any thoughts on it or this chapter.

Please **Review** , **Favorite** , and **Follow** , it shows me just how much you guys like my writing and this story. It also motivates me to work on it more and get more done. I have never written and uploaded this many chapters so fast so it goes to show how much I like doing this story.

When I began writing this story over the weekend I planned for it to be very short, consisting of just one long chapter, but it has started to grow into a full fledged story. I had planned on writing a different story than this one in the beginning. I haven't started writing it but I am still wanting to. Please let me know if you think I should start writing it now and upload it as I go or wait until I finish this story to upload it. It will be more **NaruSaku** but with a different story. Let me know.

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Chapter 4

The Sand Shinobi and the beautiful blonde were walking through the village in silence after Sakura's outburst, both thinking to themselves about what she had said. Temari broke the silence. "Hey, Ino?"

"Yeah?" She asks, still looking forwards.

"About what you said earlier about Naruto, is that really all you want from him? Are you really just going to use him like that?" The Sand Shinobi asked, not being able to figure it out herself.

The blonde answered without looking her way. "I know deep down that Naruto will never love me, it's plainly obvious he loves someone else. If I were to be with him then that's all I'd be able to get from him anyway, since he won't be able to love me." Ino was visibly shaken by saying this, Temari couldn't help but notice.

"Are you referring to Sakura?" Temari asked. "I can't help but notice that he's in love with her."

Ino sighed and seemed like she was having a hard time coming up with the words. "Yeah. He loved her at one point, but because of her constant rejections of his feelings as a kid and what she did to him in the Land of Iron," she paused and breathed in. "I am starting to believe that Naruto may be letting go of his love for her in fear of never getting any in return. I think that he's wanting to keep her friendship to replace that empty space."

Temari looked to her friend, not knowing what to say. "What-, what did Sakura do to Naruto in the Land of Iron?" The beautiful blonde took a few seconds before answering.

"It was when Sasuke attacked the Five Kage Summit and joined the Akatsuki. We had all decided amongst ourselves that in order to stop a war before it started that we needed to stop Sasuke ourselves." The blonde paused momentarily. "We all decided to kill him. But before we did Shikamaru decided that we should tell Team Seven, that being Sakura, Sai and Naruto. To get their permission, so to speak. Shikamaru went to tell Sakura and Sai and had overheard their conversation." Ino stopped talking and looked down slightly.

"What were they talking about?" Temari asked, seeing Ino's behavior.

"Sai told Sakura that Naruto loved her." She said, still looking down. "Sai had seen how much Naruto was getting hurt by Sasuke and Sakura. Sai told her that the main source of Naruto's pain was Sasuke, and that she was also hurting him." The Sand ninja looked to her questionably.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Before our first attempt to bring Sasuke back, Sakura went to Naruto and begged him to bring Sasuke back to her. She said that it was a once in a lifetime request. She cried for Naruto to bring him back." Ino turned to Temari after looking down for the last several minutes. "And he of course promised that he'd bring him back. You know how Naruto's promises work, he never goes back on them. He would rather die than to break a promise to Sakura." She breathed in and paused. "He swore on his life that he would bring him back. But after so many failed attempts it was clear to everyone that Naruto was never going to give up while everyone else had. Sai didn't know what promise Naruto made her but he told her that he could tell that it was hurting him." The blonde stopped walking and talking.

"What did Sakura do? You said that she did something to Naruto in the Land of Iron. I ran into him there, he seemed visibly shaken." Ino looked to her and took a few seconds before answering.

"Now I wasn't there but Kiba, Lee and Sai told me what happened. She went to tell Naruto their plan to kill Sasuke, but she couldn't say it."

"Well what did she say?" Temari asked, wanting her to come out and say it.

"She told Naruto that she loved him." The beautiful blonde said blankly.

"What?" The Sand shinobi asked, taken back by that.

"She told Naruto that she no longer loved Sasuke and fell in love with him. She told him that because she loved him that he could forget his promise to her. She told him that she wanted him to return to the village with her."

Temari was confused. "If she told him that she loved him then why aren't they together? It is clearly obvious that he loves her, I'd think that he'd be ecstatic if she told him she loved him. You'd think that Naruto would tell her that he loves her too and that they'd become a couple. What," She asked. "Did they break up or something? I didn't hear anything about that from Shikamaru."

Ino looked to her friend and they continued walking through the village talking. "That's because she lied." The blonde answered. "Sakura just said that she loved Naruto to get him to stop going after Sasuke." The Sand Shinobi was shocked.

"She did what?" Temari asked. "She actually lied to him about something like that? Why?"

"Because she didn't want to burden Naruto with going after Sasuke anymore. She won't talk about it but I know that she hates herself for lying to him."

"Well what did Naruto say?"

"He immediately could tell that she was lying and called her out on it. He told her to stop lying to herself and that her joke wasn't funny. He didn't take it very well." Ino answered.

"Well it's clear to see why." Temari replied. "It must have broken his heart."

"It did for awhile, but he's Naruto, he forgave her and now acts like nothing happened. But I think that it hurt him more than he let's on. I think that that's where he stopped trying to pursue a relationship with her since he thinks that she will never like him and is still in love with Sasuke."

The two ninja walked in silence and stopped at Ino's house before Temari broke the silence. "No wonder those two have such a complicated relationship. Naruto loves her so much that he's willing to let go of his feelings to make her happy and she's so upset with herself for what she did and oblivious to the fact that he still lives her." Ino looked to her friend and nodded.

"Back to what you asked before, you asked if I wanted anything from him except just to sleep with him."

The Sand Shinobi nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"Well I do, Temari. I want Naruto to love me, and not just for my body." She looked down to the ground again. Clearly emotional. "Every guy I've ever met just loves me for my body. You have no idea how much I want to be loved by someone as much as Naruto loves Sakura. He loves her more than anything, I just want to be loved by someone not for my body but for me."

The Sand ninja smiled to her friend and put a had on her shoulder. "You're wrong, I know how you feel. Every woman wants to be loved like Naruto loves Sakura. There is no question that he would do anything for her, he would and has risked his life to protect her." The blonde looked to Temari and nodded in agreement.

"I know. It's just that I just want to feel that same love. I know that I won't get it from him, but I still want it."

The two girls stood in silence as the village started to wake. "Sakura has no idea how lucky she is, does she?" Temari asked, knowing the answer.

"She has no idea, and it pisses me off." Ino said with a smile. "Naruto loves her with his whole being and she's in denial and refuses to see it. Man, I wish I had a Naruto in my life."

Temari smiled. "Don't we all." She said before realizing it.

Ino smiled. "Oh don't even start, Temari. You have one already, leave some guys for the rest of us, will you." Temari looked flustered.

"What do you mean? I don't have anyone like that." Ino smiled as she tried not to blush at the thought of it.

"Oh come on, Temari." Ino started with a smile. "Don't try to tell me that you haven't noticed how Shikamaru looks at you, it's obvious."

"It's obvious to everyone but him and I." She said with a sad tone.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked her friend.

The Sand Shinobi looked down and took a few seconds to answer. She let out a groan. "Sometimes I don't think that that man even realize that I'm a girl." Ino gave her a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" She gestured to Temari's chest. "It's pretty obvious to everyone that you're a girl."

"To everyone but him." The Sand ninja said a little angrily. "It's like he thinks of me as just another one of his guy friends. And I feel that if I do nothing short of shoving my chest in his face will get him to notice that I'm a girl." Temari had clenched her fist, clearly getting upset.

The beautiful blonde smiled and laughed. "You can always try that, you know. It will definitely do the trick." Temari blushed at Ino's words.

"I'm not that desperate, yet." She added. "I don't know," She said, sounding like she was talking to herself outloud more than to someone. "Maybe I shouldn't push it, maybe he just doesn't like me. I mean he's never once looked at me in that way. I'm actually kind of upset that he's never tried to peek at me or watch me bend over." She looked to her friend. "I have no idea what I'm saying. What do I want from him?" Ino smiled.

"You want him to notice you." The blonde said with a laugh. "You're falling for him and you want him to do the same."

The Sand Shinobi thought to herself for a few seconds. "You're right, dammit, why do you have to be right?" The blonde smiled.

"I'm always right about these things." She said with a smile that made Temari punch her in the shoulder softly. "I have a way with men."

"Now don't be getting any ideas, you leave Shikamaru alone, he's mine." The Sand Shinobi hadn't been able to stop herself. Now she held her head in her hands trying not to die from blushing.

The beautiful blonde laughed and hugged her friend. "Don't worry, even if I tried he doesn't like me, I can tell. Not that I haven't tried." Temari's eyes widened with shock.

"Ino!" She let out for the whole village to hear. The blonde smiled.

"I'm just kidding, Temari. Shikamaru is like a brother to me. A lazy, unemotional brother who drives me crazy but a brother nonetheless." Ino smiled and Temari calmed down.

"Good." Temari said softly. "Because I'll have a hard enough time getting the courage to actually tell him myself. Let alone getting him to admit it as well."

Ino laughed as she reached for her door. "Well give it some thought. You could try using this mission to help speed things up a bit." She said with a laugh.

"What do you mean by that?" The Sand Shinobi asked, hope in her voice.

"If you still want him to notice you that's easy, just let him 'accidently' walk in on you in the shower. That ought to do the trick." The Sand ninja's face reddened with blushes.

"I can't do that!" She yelled, trying to cover her face. "What would he think?"

"He'd think that you look hot without any clothes on, duh." The beautiful blonde smiled and decided to make her blush more by keeping up her comments. "Or you could just do the opposite and walk in while he's in the shower." Temari looked like she was going to die.

"Gaaaah!" She yelled. Her mind exploding. She was blushing so much her face seemed to be stuck that way. "What!? I can't do that!"

"Of course you can, Temari. What, don't you want to see him downunder? Don't tell me you've never thought of it before. Surely you've at least dreamed about it before." Ino watched her friend's reaction, she was loving seeing this emotional and open side to Temari. Usually she is so uptight and reserved. It's good for her to open up.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The blond hero of the Leaf stood in his small, cramped apartment staring at his room in silence. Naruto had never been the type of person to collect a lot of stuff. Most of that derived from how he grew up, being an orphan living by himself he never had the money to buy any toys or anything. The hero looked around his room, nothing at all stood out or was interesting. His entire room consisted of a bed pushed into the corner, a poster of the symbol for the hidden leaf, a few small dressers and a full length mirror. The only thing he owned besides his clothes and clock was his picture of Team Seven. The hero drifted towards the picture and couldn't help but feel sad.

"Maybe it's for the best." He said aloud to his eternally empty apartment. "Kakashi sensei is probably right. If Sakura and I shared a room for a month I'd probably do something stupid and piss her off. I'd end up messing up and she'd realize that I like her." The blond ninja sat on his bed and laid back, holding the picture over his face. "It's probably best that I forget trying to get her to like me and just focus on being her friend." The blond hero laid on his bed for a few minutes in silence. Thinking of all the times that he tried to show Sakura that he liked her, she never accepted his feeling even once. He's loved her since the day they met and she's only ever had eyes for Sasuke. "That damn Sasuke." The hero sighed. "I went through hell to bring him back for her and she hasn't even had a conversation with him that lasted more than five minutes." He looked at Sakura in the picture. "Why don't you just go to him and tell him how you love him like you said you would?" The blond put his hand on her face. "Why does she love you, Sasuke? You never once acknowledged or even liked her. I spent my entire life striving for her attention, I have spent the last few year by her side, protecting her, being there for her, loving her." The teen dropped the picture on the bed beside him. "But what did I get out of it? Nothing more than friendship." He winced at his words. He didn't want to be angry with her. Never with her. "Maybe that's all I should get, if I hadn't been such a pain as a kid maybe she'd look at me in a different way." The young hero sat up and placed the picture back on it's dresser. "Maybe I should just forget it, it's obvious that she loves Sasuke and that she never liked me." His mind immediately jumped to the memory of their conversation in the Land of Iron. Without thinking he punched the wall in anger. He looked at the new hole his wall now sported. "It's not like it won't fit in." He mumbled as he looked to the large hole in his wall that Sakura made by punching him through the wall not a few hours ago. "If she was able to look at me in my eyes and lie to me like that then it's obvious that she doesn't like me. She was able to say it without even flinching, or thinking how it would hurt me." The teen stood up and gathered his small bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Whatever, I should just forget it. She doesn't talk about it and neither do I." He remained in silence as he exited his room and walked through his front door, leaving his house and walking towards the main gate. "Maybe it's a good thing we aren't sharing a room." He said to himself again. "I'm not in the mood to be with her right now." The young hero walked in silence to the gate and arriving early he waited for the others to arrive.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The Sand shinobi was walking through the village that had now become her second home in order to waste time until the mission was shaken out of her thoughts at the sound of a very familiar voice behind her.

"Hey, Temari? Temari? You okay?" The girl turned to see the man she was just thinking about standing there behind her. "You okay?" He asked. "You walked right past me without noticing, I was trying to get your attention."

The Sand ninja looked down and tried to hold back a blush. She had been thinking over what Ino had told her about Shikamaru. She was still trying to get the idea of seeing him in the shower out of her mind but it was relentless and wouldn't leave. She hadn't realized that she had walked past him. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." She tried to smile and give a shrug but he couldn't help but notice her unusual actions. "Sorry, I was in deep thought, didn't realize you were there."

The genius of the Leaf hadn't been paying attention to her reply. He was busy thinking over what he was going to say to her in his mind. "Hey, Tem," He said as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to avoid eye contact but failing as he couldn't help but look into her eyes. I hope that she didn't mind that I called her Tem instead of her name, he thought to himself. "It's almost time to head over to the gate and start the mission. Do you-" He cut off, trying to think about what to say. "Do you maybe want to walk there together? If you're not busy or something, that is."

The Sand girl froze as she heard his words. 'He just called me Tem.' She thought. 'Did he mean to do that? That's the first time he's done that.' She thought about it for a second. 'Shikamaru never makes mistakes like that,' she thought. 'He must have said that on purpose.' She couldn't help but smile. When she didn't respond the genius got a little nervous. He thought that he had said something wrong and overstepped his place in asking that. He turned to leave with a look that clearly read disappointment on his face before she stopped him.

The blonde shinobi of the Sand reached out and grabbed his hand before she could realize it. The two teens looked down at their conjoined hands and smiled. She had half expected him to pull away and say something but he just looked to her and smiled as he intertwined their fingers and motioned for them to get moving without a word.

XxxxxXxxxxX

***Author's Note***

Thanks for reading. Please **Review** and tell me how you like it so far. I take all constructive criticism so please let me know.

Thanks, Hephaestus.


	5. Ch5: We Push Who We Love Most Away

Chapter 5

***Author's Note***

Thank you to **EziogreatNaruto** , **Tuffin** **,** and **Yojimbra** for reviewing and giving me some good advice and comments for my story in the future.

Please **Review** , **Favorite** and **Follow** , it really helps show me how you guys like this story. It also motivates me to work on it. Hint hint, the more you **Review** , **Favorite** and **Follow** the more I write and the faster I upload the new chapters.

This has been the longest chapter I've written for this story so far, please tell me what you think and if you'd like longer chapters like this or shorter ones.

Thanks, Hephaestus.

* * *

Chapter 5

The hero of the Leaf stood at the gate to the village as it slowly began to rain. The teen hated the rain, it reminded him of the nights that he'd sit outside on the swing outside the academy, having no one home to return to he would sit in the rain and wonder why no one cared for him over and over.

The blond was standing at the gate in the drizzling rain as he saw two figures walking towards him. Upon seeing him the two immediately separated their hands and widened the distance between them. When they got closer Naruto could see that it was Shikamaru and Temari.

"Hey, Naruto." Shikamaru said trying to sound casual. "Didn't think that you'd be the first one here. We thought that we would."

The two looked to the blond haired shinobi and noticed his unusually depressed demeanor. Shikamaru asked him if he were alright and the blond ninja just stood in silence for a few seconds as a response. The hero sighed. "I'm fine, Shikamaru."

The genius looked to his friend with a concerned look. "Hey, Naruto. You don't seem like yourself, you sure you're okay?" When he didn't respond Shikamaru looked to the woman next to him and gave her a concerned look. This was very concerning behavior to both of them.

The hero of the leaf turned from their gaze and replied. "I just don't like the rain, that's all."

Shikamaru looked to Temari and back to Naruto. "I thought that you liked the rain."

The teen raised his shoulders and slowly let them down. "Not this kind of rain, brings back too many memories." Was his entire reply. The two remained in silence, not wanting to pry any further and waited for Sakura, Ino and Sai to arrive.

XxxxxXxxxxX

Sai arrived next, followed by Ino and finally Sakura. The pinkette was able to plainly see that her blond best friend was upset upon her arrival. She walked over to him and tried talking to him.

"Hey, Naruto, you okay?" The pinkette asked with a worried tone. When she received no response in return she began to worry. It was really unlike Naruto to act this way and especially to ignore her like this. "Naruto?" She tried again.

The blond hero turned to her without looking at her and responded. "Yeah?" He asked.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" The pink haired girl asked. "You seem down."

The blond shrugged. "I don't like the rain." Was his response. The girl looked to him with worry and concern in her eye. She stepped to the side to stand face to face with him.

"What do you mean?" She couldn't help but notice that the boy turned his face from her when she faced him.

'Why is he acting like this?' The pinkette asked herself. 'Is he upset about something?' Then the thought hit her. 'He still doesn't know that I asked Kakashi sensei to switch teammates so I could be with him. Is he upset about that?' She thought about it. 'Why would he be this upset about it?' She asked herself.

"It brings back too many memories that I'd rather forget." He relied without looking at her. "Now, if you don't mind, I want to be by myself for awhile." She stared at him. She couldn't place his tone or guess what was wrong.

The pinkette leaned in closer and grabbed his arm to try to comfort him but as soon as her skin met his the young hero pulled his arm away as if he were burned.

"Please, Sakura." The blond let out. "I said that I wanted to be alone right now, can you please stop?" The blond gave her a saddened look and walked away in silence.

'I'm sorry, Sakura.' The teen cried in his head. 'This is for the best.'

The pink haired girl stood in shock, her arm still outreached to him. Shikamaru and Temari walked up to her and gave each other a look before speaking.

"Sakura, you okay?" The genius asked. Easily being able to see the shocked reaction on her face.

"He- he-" She broke off briefly, her eyes widening. "He called me Sakura."

The Sand shinobi looked to the man besides her questionably. "What's wrong with that?" She asked.

The Nara heir looked to Sakura and spoke. "He's never called her anything but Sakura-chan before. It's the first time he didn't use -chan. Right?" He asked the pinkette.

She lowered her arm and turned to the pair, her eyes down. "Yeah, he's never not called me Sakura-chan before." The girl looked to Ino who was walking up towards the group, wondering what was going on. "He's mad at me." She finished.

The Sand ninja looked to her friend and tried to comfort her. "Don't say that, Sakura. You have no idea if he's mad at you. He said that the weather was bringing back some bad memories, maybe that's it."

The beautiful blonde looked to the group questionably. "What's going on? What's up with Naruto?" The pinkette turned to her rival, her eyes reddening.

"Naruto's mad at me for something and I don't know why." The pinkette replied, her voice low and concerned.

The blonde woman looked to her pink haired friend with worry. "He's mad at you? Why?"

The pinkette faced her friend and answered angrily. "I said that I don't know." Her friends took a small step back, not wanting to get their heads bitten off.

The genius turned to Ino. "Naruto was acting depressed so Sakura went to talk to him, Temari and I already tried but he didn't talk much. She went to try to reach out to him but he pulled away and raised his voice at her and walked off." The teen looked to Sakura. "Sakura thinks that he's upset at her, we're trying to tell her not to jump to any conclusions."

The blonde woman looked to her rival. "Sakura." She said as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, you know Naruto, he'd never be mad at you." The blonde tried to give her a reassuring smile but he pinkette remained worried.

"But he didn't call me Sakura-chan." She replied, as if that explained everything, and in her mind it did. Naruto never called her anything but Sakura-chan, he always said her name with a certain glow that made her smile inside whenever he said her name. But now he just said her name like any other word. With no emotion at all. This worried the young woman. 'That is not the Naruto I know.' She thought to herself. 'What's wrong with him?'

The other three in the group looked to the pinkette with concern in their eyes. "Don't worry about it, Sakura." Ino replied with a reassuring smile. "This is Naruto we're talking about, he'd never be angry with you. No matter the reason. Just give him some time, maybe something happened to him. We don't know." The three tried to reassure the pink haired girl for the next few minutes but to no avail, she refused to let go of the idea that Naruto was upset at her and she couldn't think of why.

XxxxxXxxxxX

'I'm sorry, Sakura. This is for the best.' The young hero cried in his head as he walked away from the love of his life. 'But I can't keep doing this to myself. I can't keep being around you, it hurts too much.' The teen walked from his friends through the rain and down the path a ways before stopping not too far from them. They were to be leaving soon, this was not the time to be running off.

'I'm sorry, Sakura, but whenever we get close I can't help but want to reach out and kiss you, telling you how I feel. I can't stop thinking about you when we're together. You deserve someone who you actually love. Like Sasuke. We can never be more than friends, and I can't handle that. That's why I thinks it's best to stop our friendship altogether. I'd never be able to look at you with any other eyes than these eyes. I'm sorry.' The teen stood under a tree, covered by the rain. 'I'm sorry that I yelled at you Sakura. I didn't mean to make you upset.'

XxxxxXxxxxX

"Do you think we should try talking to him again? It's been a several hours and he still hasn't said anything." The beautiful blonde was looking to her four friends besides her and motioning to the teen a few dozen yards behind them.

"I don't know." The genius replied. "Maybe we should just let him be by himself until we get to the Inn. He'll talk when he wants to."

"Yeah but I'm worried that something happened to him. Maybe you should just ask, he might talk to you." The blonde said back.

"Me?" He asked. "Why me?"

"Because you're a guy, Shikamaru. Maybe it's a guy thing." The genius of the Leaf looked to her questionably.

"A guy thing? What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"I don't know," The blonde replied, crossing her arms. "I don't know what goes on in your guy's heads."

The young man was about to say his signature catchphrase when Sakura spoke up, distracting him. "Can you please try talking to him, Shikamaru?" The pinkette looked to him, worry was on here face. "I already tried a few times but he won't talk to me. I don't know what I did to get him so mad at me." The young woman raised her hand to her face to wipe away the tears that were beginning to form.

The two other women turned to their friend and tried to comfort her. "Don't worry," Said Ino. "I'm sure that he's not mad at you."

"Ino's right, Sakura." Temari added. "Naruto lov-" she immediately cut herself off. Ino and Shikamaru sent her a look. "He cares for you, you two are best friends after all."

The pinkette couldn't help hear the slip of the tongue made by the Sand ninja. 'If he really loved me then why is he mad at me?' She sighed to herself. 'Who am I kidding? We're only friends. Always have been, always will be.' The teen went to wipe the tears from her eyes. 'There's no way in hell that he could love me after all I've ever done to him. Maybe I deserve this for hurting him.'

The Nara heir turned to face the pinkette and told her that he'd talk to Naruto for her. The girl smiled in thanks. The group continued their race ahead as the teen slowed his pace to meet up with the hero behind him.

"Hey, Naruto." The Nara heir called out to him, the blond hero looked up at him. He had been in deep thought. The two met and kept their pace with each other for awhile until Shikamaru spoke up. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you, Naruto, but I came to talk."

The blond kept his gaze forward and didn't respond.

"You don't have to say anything, but listen, I don't know what's going on between you and Sakura, and neither does she. She thinks that she did something to get you mad at her." The genius caught a flicker in the eye of the hero. His mind responded when he heard that she was upset. "She's been crying for the past several hours, over not being able to figure out why you're mad at her. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but you have to understand that by refusing to talk to her you're hurting her." The blond turned his gaze to the teen beside him. The look on his face was being replaced by worry and sadness.

"I didn't mean to hurt her." The hero said, his voice low, in realization. "I didn't want to make her cry." The genius looked to his friend.

"Then what were you trying to do? You've been ignoring her all morning."

The blond looked down, his eyes full of sorrow and regret. "I was trying to push her away."

The genius looked to him questionably. "What? Why would you do that?"

The teen remained silent for a few seconds before answering. "I was trying to make it so that we were no longer friends."

The Nara heir looked to his friend, he was starting to realize Naruto's reasonings. "Is that because you love her? You don't think that she'll ever love you, so you decided to push her away because you can't stop loving her." The young hero was shocked at his friend's words. He understood immediately his intentions. He wasn't called the genius of the Leaf for nothing.

The blond looked down as he ran. "Yeah." He answered. "It hurts so much, I can't stand it. I'll never be able to love her the way I want as her friend. And she'll never love me the way I want either." The young hero turned his head to look at his friend. "I just don't want to hurt her, Shikamaru. If I keep being besides her then I'm going to end up messing up and doing something stupid and ruining our friendship and hurting her."

The black haired shinobi looked to the blond and sighed. "You don't get it, do you, Naruto?" The blond looked to him questionably. "You say that you don't want to hurt her but by pushing her away you're hurting her more than you ever have. You can't see it but she cares for you, more than you know."

The blond hero sighed. "No, she doesn't think of me as any more than a friend. Yeah she cares but not like that."

The genius looked to his friend and let out a loud groan. "You two are giving me a headache. You two both like each other but you won't admit it." The two stopped as the Nara heir got in the hero's face. "You are going to go up there right now and apologize. You're going to apologize for hurting her feelings and being an idiot. We can't afford to have you two being like this for the mission." The blond was going to protest but the genius stared him down with a look that meant business.

"You're right." The hero said after a few seconds. "I'll apologize, but gimme a second, okay?"

The Nara heir looked to his friend. "Better make that second quick, because we're here." The pair looked ahead and they could see the coast line ahead of them. Including the large inn they'd be staying at for the rest of the day until morning when the ship arrived to pick them up.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The group of ninja arrived at the inn they were to be staying at for the night. Shikamaru and Temari went inside to check in and collect their travel bags with their predetermined identities in them while the others waited outside. The beautiful blonde and the pale ninja stood said talking about the blond hero as the pinkette walked to the side and sat on a bench by herself.

"I wonder why he's so upset?" The pink haired girl asked aloud to the trees surrounding her. "He can't be that upset that we weren't paired together, could he?" The pinkette wondered why her friend was upset. "Is he even upset with me? Why am I even so concerned that whether he's mad at me or not?" She asked herself. The girl sat in silence relaxing in the shade for several minutes after spending all morning running at full speed.

From behind the girl she sensed a figure walking up behind her, with an enormous chakra. She instantly recognised who it was. She was happy to have him come up to her and upset at the same time how he'd treated her all morning.

"Hey." The hero said, uncertain. "You mind if we talk?"

The pinkette sat in her seat and breathed out a long sigh. "I don't mind, Naruto." The girl had hoped that he would respond by calling her Sakura-chan.

"Thanks." Was his reply instead. The two remained silent as she sat and he stood a few feet behind her. "Shikamaru told me how upset I made you." The young hero paused, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry for that, I didn't mean to make you upset."

The girl sat with her back towards him, she was happy to hear him apologize but still wondering why he was upset to begin with. She wanted to both hug and punch him at that moment.

"It's fine." She replied. "It's nothing, I'm fine." The girl felt the teen move behind her, suddenly he was sitting next to her on the bench.

"No it's not fine, Sakura." The hero went to reach for her hand but pulled away at the last moment, not knowing if he should or not. "Shikamaru told me that you were crying all morning." He looked into her eyes for the first time since they left the Hokage's office. "I hurt you by refusing to talk to you, I'm sorry. You know that I'd never mean to hurt you, right?"

The girl blushed at the thought of her friend talking this way. "I know." She said in a quiet tone. "But why?" She asked. "Why have you been mad at me all day?" The girl looked down, she was convinced that her actions earlier in the day were to blame.

The young hero fought his fear and reached out to his friend, lightly holding her hand in her lap. "I wasn't mad at you. I could never be mad at you." The girl looked down to their conjoined hands, if it would've been anyone other than Naruto she would've gotten upset and panicked, his hand was on her lap, so close to her most private area. But with him she felt safe, she knew that he would never hurt her or mean anything by it. He hadn't even noticed.

The young women looked up to the blond, giving him an uncertain look. "If you're not mad at me then who are you mad at?" The young hero looked her in the eyes.

"I'm not mad at anyone, just dealing with life, you know?" He wanted to tell her his true reasonings but he didn't wish to hurt her again. Maybe it's best to forget his plan to distance himself, it hurt them both too much.

"So you're not mad at me?" The pinkette asked, still not fully believing him.

The young blond tightened his grip on her hand slightly, just enough for her to feel. "I could never be mad at you, Sakura." He smiled in her direction.

She looked at his smile, knowing in her heart that he was telling the truth. "I believe you, Naruto." She again said this hoping that he'd call her Sakura-chan once again.

The young hero looked to his friend and spoke. "Tell me if there's any way to make it up to you. I'd do anything. I'm so sorry for hurting you this morning." The pinkette smiled at his kind words. If it were anyone but he she wouldn't believe him so easily. But with him she could hear his emotion in his voice and feel the honesty coming off him. She knew that he'd never lie to her.

"You want to make it up to me?" She asked quietly. Smiling at her friend's words. He nodded. "Then could you please call me what you always call me?"

The blond looked to the girl besides him with question on his face. It took a second but his mind soon realized what she meant. "Of course, Sakura-chan, anything you say. I'm so sorry for hurting you this morning."

The pink haired girl smiled even more at his words. 'He called me Sakura-chan.' She reassured herself. 'He's really not mad at me.' The young girl was hugging the man besides her before she could realize it. "Thank you, Naruto." The girl whispered in his ear, hugging him, not wanting to let go of her best friend.

"Is that it?" The young hero asked once she let go of him and repositioned herself back in her seat. "Is that all you want me to do? I'll do anything you want to make it up to you, you just need to ask."

The pinkette smiled. "It's more than enough, Naruto. Thanks." He would never know how much him calling her Sakura-chan meant to her.

XxxxxXxxxxX

Not long after the pair rejoined the group who were waiting outside the inn. Shikamaru and Temari had collected their room keys and their identities and passports.

"As of entering this inn, our mission begins. The innkeeper is aware of our presence here but not our true identities or the purpose of our mission. Once we go inside we will have to use our fake names and because we are written down as such, we will bunk together as couples." The Nara heir looked to the group with unwavering eyes.

'I wonder how Naruto and Ino are going to respond to the change of plan.' He thought to himself. 'They still don't know that Sakura asked to be teamed with Naruto instead of Sai.'

"Now," the genius said. Getting the attention of the group. "It's time to go over the mission parameters. As you all know, we will be splitting up into teams of two to act as couples in order to get into the Howaitosanzu private couples resort and spa. Once in, we will have zero contact with anyone outside of the resort, and limited contact with each other, as to not draw attention to our groups. Our mission is to gain the trust of the other guests and staff, most importantly the manager, to gain entry into their weapon smuggling ring. Once we gain their trust we will gather all the information and evidence we need in order to prosecute them. After we get confirmation from Kakashi sensei we will arrest the manager and the guilty persons in question."

"Are we not going to be able to talk to each other during the mission?" The beautiful blonde asked.

The Nara heir pulled out a scroll from his bag without acknowledging her. "We will be able to but we must not appear to be a group to the other guests." He open the scroll and pulled individual, smaller scrolls from it and handed one to each person. "These will be your identities for the mission." He opened his and read it to the group. "I will be Riku Hamamoto, my family owns a telecommunications company. Temari will play as my wife, she will be Yui Hamamoto, her family owns an oil company." The genius and the Sand ninja looked to each other with worry in their eyes. They had just gotten comfortable holding hands, now they were going to have to play a young married couple.

"Naruto," the genius continued. "You will be Yuuto Ishihara, your family owns a multinational shipping company." He handed the hero a small scroll.

The Nara heir turned to Sakura. "You will be Hana Fukushima, your dad owns a chain of islands, they've been a rich family for generations." He said as he handed her her scroll.

Handing a scroll to Ino he said. "You will be named Ichika Mikami, you come from an 'average' family in the land of Waves. You're planning to marry into a rich family. You're" The genius paused as he tried to figure the best way to phrase the next part. The girl in question noticed his behavior and spoke.

"I'm what?" She asked, anxious to start the mission and share a room with the hero of the Leaf.

"You're a trophy wife." He said plainly, looking away from her direction. "You are planning on marrying to get rich." The beautiful blonde sent daggers of rage his way.

"I'm a what?" She called out. "I'm not just some piece of eye candy that hangs off the arm of my 'boyfriend'." The blonde's mind froze as she imagined hanging on to Naruto like an adoring fangirl. She'd be able to get as close to him as she wanted. The girl had to stop herself from screaming with joy.

"Sorry, Ino." The genius replied. "I didn't pick the covers, I'm just reading them out." The black haired ninja turned to Sai. "And last but not least is Sai. You'll be Touma Masuda, your family owns a chain of rather large casinos." The Nara heir finished handing out the scrolls containing their cover identities and began handing out the room keys.

"Each couple gets one key each, so please don't lose it. I don't want to have to pay for another one." The group looked at the blond hero.

"What?" He asked. "Why are you all looking at me? It's not I'm not the only one who loses anything."

"Just the most likely." The blonde beauty shot at him. The hero frowned in reply.

"Back to business." The Nara heir continued. "As I said, once in the inn we will be undercover, so we must refer to each other as our roles, we must act spoiled, rich, egocentric, small minded, and snobby. We must change our speech patterns as well, the rich and famous talk very different than we shinobi." The genius looked to the blond hero. "We must also act like we've been waited on our entire lives. That means that you do nothing more than the bare minimum of work. If you want something done you ask the staff to do it, you do not do anything yourself. Is that understood?"

The blond hero replied. "Why are you looking at me?"

The black haired ninja answered him. "Because, Naruto, you always give everything one hundred percent and do everything yourself, but as we are acting like rich and spoiled young teens happily spending our father's money, we must act like we've never had to work a day in our lives. Do you understand?" The hero nodded.

"Good." He replied. "That's about it for now, the last thing left is to assign the pairings for this mission." The genius tried to say this so that no one noticed but of course they did.

"What do you mean assign the pairings, Shikamaru?" The beautiful blonde asked. "Kakashi sensei already told us who we're partnered with." She eyed the blond hero and wanted to share a room with him already.

The Nara heir sighed. 'She's definitely not going to take this well.' He thought to himself. "He did, however, some changes were made to the pairings for this mission just prior to our leaving the village."

"What do you mean by that?" She demanded. The genius sighed.

"I mean that two people were switched last minute. Temari and I will still be together, but you will now be paired with Sai, as Naruto is now with Sakura." The genius feared for his life as the blonde woman grabbed him by his collar.

"What the hell, Shikamaru? I wanted to be paired up with Naruto!"

The man held up his arms in defense. "I didn't make the decision, the Hokage did. Take it up with him."

The blonde woman was angry, she was running through her head all the possible reasons why she hadn't been teamed up with the young hunky hero. Then her mind clicked. She figured it out. "You!" She fumed to the pinkette. "You requested to be with Naruto over Sai, didn't you?"

The pink haired ninja took a defensive stance. "So what if I did?" She challenged her rival. "At least I have I don't have indecent and lewd reasonings to being with him. Unlike you!" The blonde girl fumed and turned red from blushing and vexation.

"How dare you say that in front of everybody!" The blonde girl jabbed a finger into the pinkette's chest. "Do you have any idea what that makes me look like?"

The pink haired girl smirked. "It's not like the whole village doesn't already see you like that. You've dated like what, ten or so guys this years alone?" The blonde raged some more and tensions were rising to the point of an all out brawl when the blond hero decided to step in.

The young hero went to step in as both sides began to raise their fists to fight. Just as he stepped in between them the two unleashed their wrath on their unfortunate victim.

"Hey, you two." The blond hero began to say as he stepped in between them, hoping to avoid a fight that might easily level the nearby town. "I don't know what's gotten into you to but you-" The young hero of the leaf was cut short as he received two powerful punches, one on each cheek, caving his face in and sending the mighty hero to the ground in an instant.

"Naruto!" The two wrathful screamed in unison, kneeling down to the hero who was left bleeding and passed out on the ground at their feet.

The pinkette turned her anger back on her beautiful rival. "Look what you did to him."

The beautiful woman gave her an enraged look. "What I did? You're the one who started it!" She shot at her opponent.

"Only because you were planning on using him for your own enjoyment. You're the one who's at fault here!"

The two adversaries fought each other with dagger-like glares as they attempted to revive the fallen hero before them.

The pinkette tried to find the blond's pulse but after a few seconds she felt nothing. "You-" She yelled as her eyes widened in terror at the blonde woman besides her. "You killed him!"

* * *

***Author's Note***

Thanks for reading, please **Review** , **Favorite** and **Follow** , it really helps.

By the way, Naruto's not really dead, this story would be a really lame and boring NaruSaku story if Naruto just died before they even kiss. Wink wink, hint hint, that might be coming up soon, you'll just have to keep reading when the chapters come out to find out for yourselves.

Sorry about the cliffhanger but the chapters already getting kinda long and it's getting late, almost 2am, in case you were wondering. I also couldn't help myself and end it there. I still need to finish writing and upload my Animorphs story before the end of the weekend. If you're interested in Animorphs then I have two stories in a series which I'm working on.

Please let me know what you think and **Review**. In your Review please tell me in detail what you like and or dislike about my story, vague reviews don't really help me improve my writing. The more you support and show your interest in my writing the more I'll do. So keep that in mind.

Please also let me know what you think of the NaruSaku drama and their conversations. I'm trying to develop them in this story. Please give me feedback.

Thanks, Hephaestus


	6. Ch6: Troublesome Girls

Chapter 6

***Author's Note***

Quick thanks to EziogreatNaruto and Guest007 for Reviewing, every **Review** helps and motivates me to continue this story.

Thanks, Hephaestus. Now back to your regularly scheduled chapter.

* * *

Chapter 6

The pinkette tried to find the blond hero's pulse but after a few seconds she felt nothing. "You-" She yelled as her eyes widened in terror at the blonde woman besides her. "You killed him!"

The two medics were trying to revive the hero when the pinkette announced that he was dead. The entire group immediately rushed to his side. Looks of horror etched on their faces.

"What do you mean I killed him?" The blonde medic demanded. "That couldn't possibly kill him."

"Sakura." The genius demanded. "Are you serious? Is he actually dead?" The Nara heir kneeled down to the fallen hero, placing his hand in front of his mouth to feel for his breathing.

The pink haired teen looked to him, her eyes beginning to tear up. "Yes. I can't find his pulse." The medic was searching relentlessly for his pulse.

The pinkette glared at her rival. "You killed him!" She declared with anger in her eyes.

The beautiful blonde glared at her back. "I didn't kill him, you hit him harder, you killed him." The two turned to face each other and glared to the death.

The blonde Sand ninja spoke up solemnly. "After all he's done, after everything he's accomplished, defeating Pain, being able to gain control over the Nine-Tails, mastering the legendary Sage Mode, defeating the almighty Madara, and finally beating the god-like Kaguya, he's done in by two over jealous women." Her words turned from solemn to disbelief to insult. She couldn't believe that such a hero, who was, whether she wanted to admit it or not, the most powerful ninja in the world, could possibly die from something so stupid and insignificant.

The two women in questing began raging at the Sand ninja as Shikamaru and Sai rushed to Naruto who was forgotten by the argueing women.

"Naruto!" The young genius yelled. He was trying to get the blond hero to wake up, but from Sakura's words it was already too late. "Naruto. Not like this, not like this. Come on you idiot, wake up." The Nara heir was kneeling next to the fallen hero when the women realized that they forgot about their dead teammate lying on the ground. "What about your dream? How are you going to become Hokage when you're dead?"

"Naruto!" The pinkette screamed as she knelt back down and grabbed the young hero. "No, Naruto!" The medic was pulling the blond teen onto her lap as she cried into his hair. "Naruto, I'm so sorry. I- I didn't mean to-, you weren't supposed to-." The pinkette cut off. Her head snapping up, her eyes wide.

"What is it?" The genius demanded, still hoping for a way to save the fallen hero.

"He's alive! I felt a heartbeat, he's alive!" The pink haired medic felt for his pulse and when she felt it again she hugged the hero as he started to stir.

"What? How?" The beautiful blonde asked, pushing herself closer to her handsome crush.

"I thought you said he was dead?" Sai asked, a look of doubt on his face.

"He was, he didn't have a pulse." The pinkette replied as she hugged the teen on her lap who was beginning to come to.

"How is that possible?" The Nara heir asked, amazed at the scene. Naruto was just announced dead by the best medic in the hidden Leaf, aside from Lady Fifth, he should have been dead. But now here he was, starting to come to. Naruto never ceased to amaze the young genius. 'Was it maybe the Nine-Tails' power?' He thought to himself.

The pinkette was too distracted by the young hero in her arms to hear Shikamaru's question. Her best friend was coming back to life in her arms, she had more important things to worry about.

The blond hero shifted in the pinkette's arms, pressing his face right into her breasts. It was at this exact moment when he decided to wake up.

The blond hero was coming to, his mind was fuzzy. He couldn't remember what had hit him. He woke up to the feeling of warmth and softness. Waking more he tried to look up, but ended up burying his face in something warm.

'What in the hell?' He thought to himself. 'What's going on? What's my face buried in?' It was only then when the blond hero opened his eyes, revealing his situation.

The pinkette was holding the hero in her arms when she felt him bury his face in her breasts. She looked down at his movement to see him slowly open his eyes.

"Naruto!" The medic screamed. "You're alive!" The pinkette hugged and brought him in closer, completely oblivious at their current situation. The young hero's face was pressed into her breasts so hard he could barely breath.

"Wha-" The young blond started but was cut off by the beautiful blonde as she pulled him away from Sakura and hugged him, pressing his face into her even larger pair of breasts. The young hero was confused, he had no idea what was going on. But he couldn't complain.

"I'm so glad to see that you're okay." She announced as the pinkette glared at her for stealing the hero away from her.

"What happened?" The hero asked wearily. He could tell by the girls actions that something had happened. Did someone knock him out? Was he fighting someone? He had no idea.

"Sakura killed you." The beautiful blonde answered as she cried and increased her tight grip on the young hero. Confusion spread on the hero's face. The pinkette got angry and pulled the hero back to her.

"Give him back! I was holding him first." The blond hero was pulled from the warm embrace of the beautiful blonde and pressed back into the pinkette's body.

The blonde woman pulled the teen back to her, once again pressing his face into her large, purple clad breasts. Making sure to infuriate the pinkette as much as possible.

"Wait," The young hero started, trying to pull his head away so he could breath. "Sakura killed me?" He turned to the pinkette in question. "How's that possible? I'm still alive." Now the young hero was really confused.

"Yes, she did kill you, or at least knocked you out." The beautiful blonde smiled deviously at the pinkette. "Just come with me, Naruto, let me take you up my room, I'll make you _all_ better." The blonde woman insinuated and began pulling the young hero to the door with her. She was stopped in her tracks by a very angry pink haired girl.

"You're not taking him anywhere." The pinkette declared as she grabbed the wrist of the blond hero and began a ferocious tug of war with her rival, with the young hero as the prize. "He's coming with me, I'll take care of him." The pink haired medic broke off her words, realizing what she just said. "Wait, I mean-, I didn't-, I-." She was cut off when the beautiful blonde smirked and pulled the arm of the blond hero.

"Oh will you now?" The blonde woman asked. "You'll take _care_ of him? Better leave it to me, flat as a board Sakura, I'd do a much better job." She winked seductively at the hero and gave a dagger-like look to her rival. The hero blinked in confusion, nothing was making sense to him.

"What is going on?" The pale ninja asked the two standing next to him, watching this scene unfold.

"They're fighting over Naruto again." The genius replied as if he were ashamed of their actions. "At least no one's around to see it this time."

"Does this happen often?" The Sand shinobi asked the man next to her.

"Unfortunately." The Nara replied with a sigh.

"And does Naruto ever realize why they're fighting over him like animals?" The blonde of the Sand asked.

The genius shook his head in reply. "He'd have a girlfriend by now if he noticed."

The girl looked to him questioningly. "What do you mean? Does this happen a lot?"

The Nara heir let out another sigh. "Whenever we go out into the village some scantily clad woman always throws herself on him, causing one of these two to always get pissed and start a fight." He paused and sighed again. "One time I even had to hold Ino back with my Shadow Possession Jutsu from attacking a girl who asked Naruto sign her chest."

Temari gave a confused look. "Sign her chest?" She asked. "I don't understand. Hasn't that happened before, like a lot?" The black haired genius gave her a look and sighed again.

"You're right, it has happened a lot of times." He watched the battle for the hand of the hero in front of him for a second and continued. "But this time she didn't ask him to sign her shirt."

The Nara heir watched as the words clicked into the blonde's head. "Wait," She said, realizing what he was saying. "Some girl actually asked him to sign her-"

"Yup. She did. And Ino almost killed her for it." The genius finished her thought.

"Wow." The Sand ninja whistled. "That's some dedication." The three watched as the confrontation became more violent as the two warring women started using their monstrous strength on each other, and unfortunately on the very same man they were fighting over.

"You have no idea." The Nara heir sighed. The group watched the pair level the nearby forest for a while. All the while not moving to stop them. "Guess we better stop them before they destroy the inn, huh?" The genius sighed. "I don't wanna be held accountable for their mess, again."

The genius of the Leaf sighed for what had to have been the hundredth time and slowly walked up to the rampaging amalgamations of absolute wrath and destruction.

"Troublesome." The genius muttered as he walked into the jaws of death. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

XxxxxXxxxxX

"Fwwaaappp!" The Beautiful blonde and Pinkette winced in pain as the Sand shinobi slapped them across the face.

"What were you two thinking?!" She roared at them. "You two nearly destroyed the inn and half the forest fighting over Naruto like children." The Sand ninja was lecturing the two dueling women for their actions. Shikamaru had captured them with his Shadow Possession Jutsu mid fight and moved them closer to him while Sai ran to the blond hero who was caught in the middle of their brawl once again. Temari had taken this opportunity to scold the two women.

"Do you two realize that we are undercover? You two could blow this mission before it even starts. And look at the man you were fighting over," The Sand ninja pointed to the hero who was several yards away leaning against a tree trying to recover from his many wounds. "You two nearly kill him, no, you technically did since he had no pulse, and what did you two do?" The Sand shinobi got uncomfortably close to the confined women. "You two nearly killed him again!"

The genius of the Leaf watched his partner lecture Sakura and Ino from a few feet away as he held his Shadow Possession Jutsu on them, keeping them immobilized. Watching Temari lecture them like that worried him. He'd be stuck with her alone in a small room for a month, if he even did the slightest thing wrong he was sure that he'd be lectured just like this.

'Troublesome.' He thought to himself.

The genius tuned out the roaring women as he turned his attention to the wounded hero.

'How is he still alive?' He asked himself. 'Sakura said that he was dead, she couldn't find a pulse. Did she just miss it?' He questioned. 'Not likely, Sakura is second to only Lady Fifth when it comes to Medical Ninjutsu, she couldn't just be wrong about something like that.' The genius used his powerful mind and in a few seconds came up with a few possibilities. 'Perhaps Naruto was just on the brink of death so Sakura couldn't feel his pulse, it was still there but not traceable. But more likely the Nine-Tails within him used his enormous power and chakra to jump start Naruto's heart.' The genius watched Naruto. His wounds were already healing thanks to his Uzumaki blood and the Nine-Tails' chakra.

'He'd be dead already just from these two women alone if he didn't have his blood and the Fox's chakra.'

The genius of the Leaf let go of his Jutsu and released the two imprisoned women.

"That's enough Temari, they've had enough." He walked towards the three women. "It's time to stop messing around, we need to start our mission." He turned to Sai who was helping Naruto to his feet. "Everyone gather up, dust yourselves off and pair up for the mission. We go check in the Inn in ten." He turned back to Sakura. "But first you might want to heal him, we can't bring him in there looking like that, he looks like he just walked through a war zone." He gestured his thumb to the hero. He watched as the eyes of the beautiful blonde lit up with devious intentions. "Just Sakura." He told the blonde. "We don't need another fight, besides," He gave the blonde a look. "She's _his_ partner."

The beautiful blonde grumbled as the pinkette rushed to the blond hero who was trying to stand. The hero smiled his usual smile as he saw the girl running towards him. The pink haired medic quickly shooed the pale ninja away and began healing the hero with her Medical Ninjutsu.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto." The pinkette muttered for the dozenth time as she worked on healing her best friend. The hero smiled and tried to reassure the girl again that he was fine and that it was okay. "No, it's not okay." She said as she looked to her friend with tears trying to form behind her eyes. "We almost killed you, I, almost killed you, Naruto." The pink haired ninja buried her head in the hero's shoulder as she continued the constant flow of healing chakra into him.

"It's fine Sakura-chan." The blond hero reassured her softly. "It'll take a lot more than that to kill me, believe me. It's not like I haven't been through worse." He smiled his warm, calming smile again as she peeked a look at his face again, while still trying to hid in his shoulder behind her hair.

"But it's not fine, Naruto." She continued. "I nearly killed you. You, my best friend, the one person who's always been there for me. The one person who has risked so much for me. And what did I do to repay you?" The pinkette lowered her head, not being able to look the hero in the eyes. "I almost killed you. I can't understand how you're not furious with me. I almost killed you." The pink haired girl felt her tears form in her eyes when suddenly she felt a pair of strong, reassuring arms engulf her and bring her in for a hug.

"It's as you said, Sakura-chan." His words were kind and calming as always, her heart was always calmed by his voice. "You're my best friend, you mean the world to me. There's no way I could get mad at you." The hero let out a small laugh. "So you tried to kill me, so what? Sasuke tried to kill me several times, and he's one of my closest friend's. So did Gaara, Killer Bee, the Raikage, the Tailed Beasts, Granny, many of my closest friend's have tried to kill me." He let out a big goofy smile that made the woman in his arms smile as well. "If you haven't tried to kill me at least once then you're not a true friend in my book." The young hero looked to the pink haired girl in his arms and realized how close they were. Their bodies were pressed against each other. Her breasts were pressed into his arm. It took all his might not to blush and have a nose bleed. He immediately let go and shifted over to give her space. "Sorry," he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Didn't realize that I was holding you like that." He started to get up as the pinkette remained on the ground. "It's not right as your friend for me to hold you like that, I'm sorry."

The hero walked to the group as the pink haired girl was stunned by his words.

'What did he mean by that?' She asked herself. 'That it's not right for him to hold me like that as a friend?' The pinkette knew how it looked, she was well aware that her chest was pressed against his arm in such a way. But in that moment she didn't care, yes he was right, two non-dating friend's shouldn't hug in that way, but at that moment she just wanted to hold onto him and never let him go. The pinkette remembered the hero's parting words. 'Did he mean to say it like that?' She asked herself. 'It sounded like he was upset that we were friends and that we couldn't act like that.' The pink haired girl thought to herself for a few seconds and a thought slowly popped into her head and refused to leave. 'That's because he is upset that we can't act like that.' A voice in her head said. 'He doesn't just want to be friend's, we wants to be more.' The pinkette quickly shook off the thoughts.

"There's no way he could want me like that." She mumbled to herself as she stood up. "Not after everything that I've done to him. And besides," She quietly spoke to herself as she looked to her chest. "Ino's right, no man would ever find my body attractive. She nearly buried him in her breasts, but with mine nothing happened, he didn't even notice."

The pinkette pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and rejoined the group and began to gather her bag and head into the inn with Naruto.

* * *

***Author's Note***

Thanks everyone for reading. Please, let me know what you think and leave a **Review**. Please tell me what your favorite chapter and part of the story are so far, it would really help to show me what you guys like and don't like.

Sorry for the sorta shorter chapter this time, I wanted to get this out asap as well as separate this from the next chapter and leave plenty of time for everything that I plan to have happen. For all of you out there who are wondering when the pairings and uncomfortable and awkward couples parts are going to start, don't worry, in the next chapter I plan to have the couples enter the inn and begin on their mission. They will be forced to spend the night in the same room and it's going to get all kinds of awkward and uncomfortable for the teens. Please be patient as I don't want to rush this next chapter, as it is the first to set up the main chunk of this story. I will upload the next chapter asap, within the next few days or so. So please **Follow** and **Favorite** so you can know when it comes out and read it asap. Please leave a **Review** and let me know what you'd like to see going forward with the couples on the mission. Anything about them in awkward situations would really help me come up with ideas. Please let me know.

New chapter will be uploaded every few days, please feel free to harass me if I go a few days without uploading anything.

Thanks, Hephaestus.


	7. Ch7: Privacy? What's That?

Chapter 7

***Author's Note***

Sorry about the shorter chapter, didn't have as much time this week to work on it.

Thanks to DragonPony022, Yojimbra , mbravesgirl7, and EziogreatNaruto for Reviewing.

If anyone is interested I have an Animorphs story and two series, which one is in progress, that I also have. If you like Animorphs then please check them out.

Also, I've had some ideas for another Naruto story in the works for awhile now, it's going to focus on NaruxSaku like this one. Please let me know if you'd want to see any more Naruto stories by me and if you think I should work on it now and upload as I go or wait until I finish this story to start the next. Any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks. And now to what you've all been waiting for...

* * *

Chapter 7

The uncertain couples arrived at the inn and checked in using their undercover names. The giant and overly muscular innkeeper greeted the teens believing that they were all young couples, so he set all the teens in Couple's Suites for their night beforehand. When the blond hero asked the innkeeper about the beds in the rooms the innkeeper gave him a confused look.

"Aren't you two a couple?" The large innkeeper with an even larger blond mustache and a single lock of hair asked. "What? Don't you two sleep with each other?" The man questioned Naruto and Sakura. The pair looked to each other nervously and Naruto replied.

"It's just that we are not married," The blond hero explained. "We have never slept in the same bed before." To this the man gave a smile which was hidden behind his large mustache.

"That's not something you hear anymore in this day and age." The large man gave the young couple a hug as he lifted them in the air. "It's so good to hear that kids nowadays still follow the old traditions and don't sleep with each other until marriage!" The couple were confused and taken aback by the very large and muscular blond mustached innkeeper.

'Maybe it's just how everyone acts out here.' They thought in unison.

The hero and the medic struggled to break free from the man's powerful grip and when he finally let go the couple turned back to each other.

"So I'm guessing that the room only has one bed then?" The young hero asked.

"I'm afraid so, young man." The hulking innkeeper suddenly burst into overly dramatic and powerful tears. "If only I'd of known before hand, I would've placed you two in a room with separate beds! Or even two separate rooms! I set you two up in the nicest Couple's Suite we have to offer!" The man tried to hug them again but he couple backd off.

"I understand how important abstinence before marriage is! I am so terribly sorry if I have made it uncomfortable for you two in any way! Please!" The over dramatic hulking giant yelled. "Accept my most humble apologies!"

"It's okay, really." The pinkette spoke, taking charge of the talking now. "Even if we share the same room it won't be any different. No worries." The large mustached man smiled behind his blond mustache again. "Besides, we are going on a vacation at a resort tomorrow, we would be sharing the same room then anyway. And I am very confident that there is only one bed per room."

"You would be correct, young lady!" The innkeeper boomed. "However I am still sorry for the inconvenience, if you two need anything, please feel free to ask. It would be my privilege to make your stay any the more enjoyable!"

The pair thanked the large innkeeper and headed upstairs to their room where their luggage for the mission had already been sent.

The blond hero looked to the pinkette besides him and nodded back to the direction of the innkeeper.

"What was up with that guy?" He asked.

The pink haired girl shrugged as they climbed the stairs to their floor.

"I have no idea, but he kinda freaked me out. I mean, I could tell that he was one of those 'giant teddy bear' kind of guys but seeing a guy that big in front of me like that made me a bit nervous."

"I know what you mean." The hero replied. "He definitely gets way too carried away."

The pair walked the remainder of the at to their room in silence, each of them had attempted some small talk but failed. Each teen was thinking about the idea of having to share a room, and more importantly a bed for an entire month. The blond hero was excited to spend the time with his beloved Sakura but also saddened because he knew that she only thought of him as a really good friend and would treat him as such. He knew that there was no way that they'd actually share the same bed for any part of the mission.

The pinkette was slightly nervous, but she herself couldn't figure out why. It was not the first time that her and Naruto have shared a room for a mission before. Or even the first time they had slept next to each other in a bed or otherwise. The pinkette remembered the time when she had gotten incredibly sick during a mission and the young hero had carried her for the entire trip and had taken care of her. He had noticed how cold it was outside so he huddled next to her for warmth, when he realized that it wasn't enough, the hero summoned several shadow clones and removed their shirts so that her and all his clones were sharing body heat. At first the pinkette almost freaked out. She was barely able to open her eyes and one moment she was next to Naruto and the next moment she was surrounded by a dozen shirtless Naruto's that huddled together with her to keep her warm. The pink haired ninja couldn't help but smile at that memory. It wasn't until now that she realized that she never thanked him for it, as he had never brought it up again, even in conversation.

'Was he embarrassed by that?' She asked herself. 'Was it so uncomfortable for him that he doesn't want to bring it up again? Yes it was very awkward but in that moment I felt so safe and warm and protected. Does he not feel the same way about that?' The pinkette ended her conversation with herself as the pair reached their door. As they approached, the teens could hear the couple next door through the wall, the pair looked to each other with embarrassed and uncomfortable looks, it was very obvious what they were doing.

"Shall we go in, Hana my dear?" Naruto gestured as he opened the door for her. The pinkette nearly jumped when he called her 'my dear', it took a few seconds but it registered that Naruto was already playing his role.

'Might as well start now, I guess.' The pink haired girl thought. "Thank you very much, Yuuto my love." She quickly replied with a smile before she could think. When the words left her lips she nearly gasped. She hadn't meant to call him that, it just came out as something that a young couple would say. Realizing it was too late to take back her words she smiled to her fake boyfriend and stepped into their suite.

Upon entering the room Sakura looked and scanned the room, taking in everything at once. Their suite for the night was a medium sized room. Nothing too fancy but it gave off the feeling of warmth. It was as the innkeeper had said, there was only one large double bed for the couple in the far room separated by a clear glass wall. Next to the bedroom was the bathroom, which featured a large standing tub that stood in the center of the room. The bathroom was also separated from the main room by a clear glass wall. There was no way to deny it, privacy was going to be impossible tonight.

The pinkette sighed in frustration. She was hoping to take a nice, long refreshing hot bath after everything that happened today. How was she expected to take a bath with Naruto just a few feet away with only a wall of glass separating them?

"Is anything wrong, Hana my dear?" The blond hero looked to her with a large smile.

The pinkette smiled in response. "You can stop calling me that now, Naruto. We're alone now, no one can hear you." The pink haired medic noted that he called her 'my dear' again.

"Okay Sakura my-" The blond hero stopped himself, he had almost said something that he wasn't supposed to say. The hero quickly recovered. "My wouldn't you look at the room." He played off, unsuccessfully in his mind. "I had no idea the room would be so, open." He ended with a nervous smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah," The pinkette replied, not thinking twice that Naruto misspoke. Secretly hoping that she could be anywhere else right now, she did not want to have to be in front of Naruto naked as she took her bath. And there was no way in hell that she'd go to a private resort without showering first, she smelled almost as bad as him.

"Well we'll have to think of something, because there's no way that I'm going to get naked and bathe in front of you, and vice versa." The pinkette's eyes widened, she hadn't meant just say it like that.

The blond hero next to her let out a frown. "I know that, Sakura-chan. I'm not stupid." He walked over and looked at the several large suitcases preset with their clothing. "When you take your bath I'll leave the room, give you some privacy."

The blond didn't notice but the pinkette blushed a little, he had already thought of it and was planning on doing whatever made her most comfortable.

"You don't have to." The pink haired ninja replied without thinking. "I don't want you to have to wait outside."

The young hero turned to her with a confused look. "Well you can't just bathe when I can see you, can you?" He asked.

The pinkette realized what she had said. "Of course not!" She waived the air as if waiving the thought away. "We just can't get nude in front of each other, that's just not decent." The pinkette heard a small voice come from the back of her mind that she tried to fight off.

'Well why not?' The voice asked. 'He's hot isn't he? Don't you wanna see what the hero of the village looks like down under?'

The pinkette quickly fought off the rouge thought. 'Because he's Naruto!' She screamed to herself. 'He's like a brother to me, I can't just look at him like that!'

'You don't look at him with the eyes that you look at a brother.' The voice fired back. 'And he doesn't look at you with the eyes of looking at a sister.'

The pink haired medic was about to respond to her own thoughts when the blond hero broke her train of thought.

"Sakura-chan?" His voice concerned. "Are you okay?"

The pinkette snapped back into reality as she discreetly shook her head trying to remove her perverted thoughts. But her attempt to be discreet failed as the young hero watched her every move.

"What did you say?" The pink haired girl asked.

"I just asked if you were okay." He replied simply. "You looked lost for a second there."

"No, no," The medic replied. "What did you say before that?" The hero gave her a questioning look.

"I asked how you think the others are dealing with this privacy situation." He gestured to the glass wall dividing the bathroom and bedroom with the main room. "If that weird innkeeper set us all up in the same style room then everyone else is going to have the same problem as us."

The pinkette blinked, she hadn't thought of that. It's a good thing that she asked to be teamed up with Naruto instead of Sai. She didn't even want to think about what that Ino pig would be doing with Naruto being in a room like this. She'd had a field day, she would have a million opportunities to do something to him.

"Probably best not to worry about it." The blond hero answered with a smile. "I mean, the others are just like us right, trying to figure it out the best we can? They shouldn't have a problem."

"Right." The pinkette responded with doubt in here voice. I her mind there was no way that the others could be fine with this set up.

As they were talking the young hero walked through the small room and into the clear bathroom and stood in the corner looking at something. The pinkette was trying to see what he was looking at but he was blocking her view.

"What are you doing? Are you even listening to me?" She asked a little insulted, he just straight up ignored her and walked away as they were talking.

Hey, Sakura-chan." He answered. "Come check this out, I think I found a solution to our privacy problem." This caught the ears of the pink haired girl.

"What is it?" The pinkette asked as she walked to the young blond hero. The girl saw what the blond hero was talking about. Hidden in the far corner of the room was a shoji paper screen.

"That's perfect!" The pink haired teen nearly yelled. "With that now we don't have to worry about the other seeing us as we bathe and change." She lightly punched the hero in good fun. "Now you don't have to wait outside as I take a bath."

"You don't have to sound so excited about it, Sakura-chan." The hero replied a little downbeat. "It's not like I was going to watch you while you bathed or changed or anything. I'm not a pervert."

The pinkette smiled. "You are a little." She responded. "And that's why you were going to wait outside."

"No I'm not." The young hero defended. His face trying so hard not to blush at the accusation by his crush.

The pinkette smiled as she walked back to the main room. She was having fun messing with her friend.

"Than what do you call that time that we caught you sneaking into the girls bath at the hotsprings?" She asked.

The hero followed her back to the main room.

"That was years ago, Sakura-chan. I've grown up, I'm an adult now. I don't do that anymore."

"Yeah, right." She smiled.

"Well if you don't believe me then that's your fault. Just don't think that I'd ever try to take a peek at you."

"Why wouldn't you?" The pinkette asked. "Why wouldn't you try to take a peek? You used to always try when we were kids."

The hero mumbled in response. The pinkette couldn't understand what he said.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"I said because I have more respect for you than that." The hero turned to face the pinkette. "I'm not a child anymore, and besides," He paused for a second. "I wouldn't because I don't wanna get punched in the face again. My neck still hurts from earlier when you and Ino nearly knocked my head off." The young bldn hero tilted his head and stretched his neck. The pinkette heard it pop several times.

"Sorry about that again." The pink haired girl replied. "I hope you know that I didn't mean to hit you."

"I know that you didn't, Sakura-chan. But it still hurt like hell." The blond tilted his head again and his neck popped again. The pinkette got an idea of how to make it up to him from watching him.

"I can massage it if you want." She said simply. "If I flow some chakra into it at the same time it won't only just help relax your muscles but heal your neck at the same time."

A large grin grew on the hero's face that the medic barely caught.

"That would be great, Sakura-chan." The blond's smiled dropped a little. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, why not?" The girl asked. "I give chakra massages to patients in therapy all the time, it works wonders. It's nothing really."

"Don't say that, Sakura-chan, it means a lot to me that you'd offer to help massage my neck for me." The blond hero let out his signature addictive smile and the pinkette couldn't help but sigh to herself. She didn't know why but she couldn't get enough of his smile.

XxxxxXxxxxX

***Author's Note***

Thanks so much for reading. My work schedule changed this last week so now I have twice as many hours, yay me. So because of that I didn't have as much time to work on this chapter as I thought. I also still need to work on and upload my Animorphs chapter by Sunday, so I'm not going to be getting any sleep this weekend, again.

Anyway, please show your support and Review, Favorite and Follow. Also, I noticed that chapter 3 has less views than chapters 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6, is there any reason why? Is there something about that chapter that makes people not want to read it? Please let me know.


	8. Ch8:The Pig Had Already Made Her Move

Chapter 8: The Pig Had Already Made Her Move

***Author's Note***

Before we begin I just want to apologize for the late chapter. If you wanna know why it's out late please read the Author's Note at the end.

Please **Review** , **Follow** , and **Favorite**.

Thanks, Hephaestus

* * *

Chapter 8: The Pig Had Already Made Her Move

"Don't say that, Sakura-chan, it means a lot to me that you'd offer to help massage my neck for me." The blond hero let out his signature addictive smile and the pinkette couldn't help but sigh to herself. She didn't know why but she couldn't get enough of his smile.

The pinkette had the blond hero lay down on the large comfortable bed and asked him to remove his shirt.

"Are you sure, Sakura-chan?" The young blond asked. The pinkette looked at him questioningly.

"Well of course, Naruto." The medic replied. "I can't exactly give you a massage when you're wearing a shirt, now can I?"

"Well you're the one you made a big deal of it when I wasn't wearing a shirt last time, so I was just making sure that you didn't get mad again." He turned his look away from her and sighed.

"I just don't wanna get punched again, it really messes up my neck. It makes it sore for a few days." The pink haired girl frowned for a brief moment, she hadn't thought how much it hurt him every time she hit him.

"Sorry about hitting you all the time, Naruto." She replied truthfully as she sat on the bed next to him as he laid.

"Don't worry, I promise that I'll never hit you ever again. I promise."

The hero shifted his body to see the pink haired girl next to him. He smiled when he saw her face.

"Do you really mean that, Sakura-chan?" She smiled back.

"Of course I do, silly. I wouldn't lie about something like that. Now, take off your shirt quickly so we can get started." The girl's mind froze, she hadn't meant to sound so desperate in asking him that, hopefully he didn't notice. The pinkette watched the young blond hero as he began to remove his shirt, he was oblivious to her staring.

The medic watched the hero remove his shirt, she couldn't help but stare as his finely chiseled abs and chest appeared from under his large shirt. The girl wondered why he covered his impressive physique, if he was wearing a shirt you couldn't tell how ripped he was. The pinkette felt something wet fall on her hand, she snapped back into reality and almost screamed when she realized that she had been drooling as she watched her best friend take off his shirt. She mentally slapped herself and hoped to god that the young hero next to her didn't notice. The girl looked down to the young man who was lying on his stomach patiently for her to start. He hadn't seen a thing, the pink haired girl did a mental double fist-pump to the sky. She wouldn't be able to live with herself or let it down if he noticed how she's been looking at him recently.

'Okay, I'll admit it.' The pinkette confessed to herself. 'He's hot, attractive, and really sexy. But does that change anything? Of course not, he's still my friend. My insanely attractive friend whose shirtless right before me.' The girl mentally slapped herself.

'Get a hold of yourself, Sakura, this is Naruto you're talking about, so what if he's hot and shirtless, he's still your friend. Treat him like one.'

The pinkette bent over the side of the bed and grabbed her small travel bag and sifted through it.

"Sorry, Naruto." She began as she pulled out a small container of lotion.

"I didn't bring any massaging lotion, I mean, why would I think to bring any on our mission? So I'm going to use some of my lotion that I use. It feels really nice but smells kind of girly, is that okay?"

The blond hero moved his head from it's place in the pillow to look at the pinkette.

"Of course, Sakura-chan, that's fine. Is it the cherry blossom smelling one that I gave to you?" The young blond asked spying the container in her hands.

The pinkette paused when he asked this, she hadn't realized that the lotion that he gave her a month ago when she complained that her hands were getting dry from the medical gloves from the hospital was the one that she's been using everyday since. She smiled to herself, when he gave it to her he said that now she could smell as great as she looked. The pinkette hadn't thought anything at his comment, he was her friend, a gift and a cheesy line like that wasn't anything abnormal, he did things like that all the time.

"Yes it is, Naruto." The girl said answering him. The girl thought of something and decided that this was as good as a time as any to ask. She started to lather the lotion in between her fingers and channeled her healing chakra to her hands and turned to face a Naruto who had his face buried in a large, overstuffed pillow.

"Naruto?" The girl asked. "I have a question."

"Shoot." He mumbled in reply to her question through the pillow.

The pink haired medic placed her trembling hands an inch above the hero's muscular back. She was having a hard time looking at him without a shirt and having an even harder time calming down before she placed her hands on his back. The girl didn't want him to feel her so nervous as she put her hands on him, that would most likely get him nervous as well. The medic pushed these thoughts aside as she calmed herself and continued her question.

"Why did you give me this lotion?" She asked as she placed her hands on the young hero's back. His body winced from the sudden cold touch of her hands.

"Because you complained that your hands were getting dry from your gloves that you use at work." The blond replied simply. He was smiling into the pillow. He's gotten many massages before but this one was the best by far. For one the girl who he loved was giving it to him and two she was just so good at it. How he wished for this feeling everyday.

The pink haired girl raised an eyebrow in question.

"But I only mentioned that my hands were getting dry from the gloves once in conversation, did you really go out and buy it just for that?" She asked, curious to the hero's answer.

"Of course, Sakura-shan. It was no big deal, you said that your hands were drying out so I bought it later that day when I happened to see it at the store." The young blond let out a groan of delight as the pinkette massaged his back. The girl smiled at his reaction, she was happy that he was enjoying it so much.

The pinkette thought over his answer, something was bothering her about it.

"You said that you bought this when you happened to see this at the store, but I checked the other day, you can only buy this at the fancy perfume and lotion shop on the other side of the village. I started to run out so I went around to all the local shops and asked around." The pink haired medic smiled at the thought of the hero of the Leaf walking into a woman's perfume shop and asking for help finding a lotion for her. She could just imagine how uncomfortable it made him being in a place like that. He clearly didn't belong there, Sakura had never even been there herself before, the shop was for the ladies of the village, she thought that she wouldn't fit in there so she never went in.

"Tell me the truth, Naruto." The pink haired girl sent a wave of calming chakra into the hero's back as she rubbed her thumbs in a slow, small circle on the small of his back. She was quick to receive a moan from the blond as it sent a shiver up his spine. This made the medic smile once more.

"Did you go out and buy this lotion from that expensive shop uptown just because I happened to mention that my hands were dry from work?"

The hero hesitated for a minute as he thought of his answer. He was having so much fun getting this massage from his beloved Sakura, he thought that if he answered wrong that she would stop for some reason and get angry.

"Naruto?" The pinkette asked, getting a little annoyed that he wasn't answering her.

The blond replied quickly. "Yes I did, Sakura-chan." He answered after he turned his head enough to talk as his face was pressed into a pillow.

"Sorry, if you're upset that I did, I was just trying to get you something as a small gift." The pinkette was surprised at his words, did he really think that she was upset that he went to that store and bought something specifically for her? He must be crazy, she loved the thought of him getting her a gift just because.

"Upset? Why would I be upset? I love it, Naruto. It was a really nice thing to do." The pink haired girl slowed her hands and began sending ripples of chakra into the blond's back.

"You really love it?" The young man asked hopefully.

"Of course I do, Naruto. I've worn it everyday since you gave it to me, I just can't get over the floral smell, and the small hint of after smell of cherry, it's to die for." The pinkette pulled her hand from the blond's back and quickly smelled it again, it always made her heart sing whenever she smelled it. She just loved it. And know that she knew that the young hero went through so much trouble just to get it for her she loved it even more.

"I could get used to this, it the best thing I've ever felt." The blond announced through the pillow, it was obvious to the pink haired medic that he was really enjoying it.

"Well don't." The pinkette laughed in good humor to herself for a second. "I not just going to give you a massage whenever you feel like one." The blond pulled his face from the embrace of the pillow and responded.

"That's fine, I understand, Sakura-chan. Whenever you don't want to I can always just ask Ino to give me one instead." The young hero's words stopped the pinkette in her tracks, the smile left her face.

"Ask Ino to give you one instead?" The pink haired girl nearly yelled. "Why would you have that pig give you a massage? What made you think of asking her to give you one when I'm in the middle of giving you a massage?" The pinkette was not happy, she was having so much fun watching the blond's reactions to her massaging his back and was feeling touched that he went out of his way to buy her a gift and he had to ruin it by talking about another girl.

The hero heard the change in the girl's tone, he could tell that she wasn't happy, he couldn't think of why though.

"Because she gives me one after my training sessions, that's why." The blond said simply, he hoped that she wasn't mad at him again, he could get used to a happy Sakura that treated him nice whenever she was mean to him.

"She gives you a what? Why?"

The young hero lightly shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"She told me that it helps the body recover and heal after training, so she offered to massage my back after every training session that I do. I wasn't so sure about it at first but she assured me that it would help."

' _Of course she did, she'd say anything to get you to take off your shirt.'_ The pinkette thought to herself.

"She offered to massage your back for you, you didn't ask her to, right?" The pink haired girl was hoping that she was wrong that Naruto would ask Ino to massage his back for him.

"No I didn't ask, Sakura-chan, I wouldn't ask her for that." The pinkette breathed a sigh of relief at his answer.

"I was busy training when Kurama told me that he sensed someone watching me, I looked to see who it was. I thought that it might've been you, it turned out to be Ino. When I asked what she was doing she mumbled and said something about me looking tired and sore. I told her that my shoulders and back were killing me from my training session." The pinkette nodded for the hero to continue as she continued her massaging session completely unaware at how long they've been going for.

"Then she offered to help massage my shoulders and back to help my body recover. We went over to the hospital and used one of the empty rooms, at first it was kinda strange, just her and I in the room alone. It felt weird. Anyways after she massaged me for awhile she offered to massage my back after every one of my training sessions. At first I tried telling her that I was fine, that she didn't need to but then she started talking to me about all the physical repercussions of not and kept going on how it was better for my body to get it massaged after training. I told her that I never heard of anyone else doing it but she was adamant that it was necessary."

The pinkette was getting angrier at her rival from every word she heard. At first she was mad at Naruto but it sounded to her that Ino talked him into it by using a whole bunch of medical terms and words to confuse him. On top of that she convinced him that is was good for training, Naruto would do anything if it helped him train.

"Okay. Well how often does she give you one? I can't imagine everyday." The hero shook his head in reply.

"No, not everyday. With all my preparations to become Hokage I don't have a lot of time to train anymore, I can only get a training session in about two or three times a week. So she only gives me a massage two or three times a week." The young hero sounded sad to the pinkette, not because of not being able to get a massage from Ino everyday but from not being able to train everyday. The pink haired ninja liked what she heard, she couldn't stand the thought of Naruto getting any enjoyment at all from that Ino pig.

"Tell me, Naruto." The pinkette started as she moved to working on his neck.

"How does she give you a massage?" The pink haired girl could only imagine the seductive ways that perverted pig was trying to seduce Naruto. Ino wasn't exactly shy about using her looks or her body to her advantage, two things that luckily Naruto didn't seem to notice.

The young blond hero went stiff as a board and hesitated to answer. He didn't really want to say, he was sure that Sakura would get angry if he did. Best to not answer, he thought.

The pink haired medic noted the young man's change in behavior when she asked him how Ino massaged him. The pink haired girl didn't like that one bit, it sent her mind racing and got her upset.

"Naruto?" The girl asked a little angry.

"If you don't want me to stop right now than you better answer my question. How does Ino give you a massage?" The pinkette was getting upset at the thought of that pig doing something so inappropriate as to massage him without any clothes on or rub his back with her breasts or something like that. The pink haired girl wouldn't put it past her perverted rival.

"Well uh." The hero muttered quickly, trying to find the best way to say it.

"She uh, doesn't sit on the side of the bed or stand next to it or anything like that." The hero held his breath, anticipating for Sakura to stop massaging him and get really angry when he tells her.

"She sits on my lower back as she massages me." The hero said quickly and simply, preparing to get an earful from Sakura. But to the young blond's amazement the girl next to him said nothing and continued her task massaging his neck. The blond hero was fearing for his life, she had her hands around his neck. The hero heard nothing from the pink haired girl for a few seconds, when he opened his mouth to talk he was interrupted by the feeling of the pinkette climbing on top of him and sitting on his back.

The pink haired girl heard Naruto's response and it made her feel several emotions at once. The girl was mostly angry that Ino would mess with Naruto like that. It sounded to Sakura like the hero wasn't exactly comfortable with it. The pinkette was also feeling jealous that her rival would use that opportunity to get close to and throw herself at Naruto like that. The girl couldn't get her head around her rival getting one up on her when it comes to anything. Before the pinkette could think of anything else or realize what she was doing in order to stop herself she found herself climbing on top of Naruto and sitting on his back with her legs bent and sprawled out to the sides. The pink haired girl was literally straddling the young hero's back.

The young blond's mind was exploding, the woman whom he loved more than life itself was now sitting on top of his back as she massaged him. The hero could feel her warm, rounded butt cheeks on his back. The blond could feel his member hardening instantly as she shifted her weight, rubbing her butt against his back. He could practically feel her skin through the thin fabric of her skin tight leggings that usually have a skirt like fabric over them.

' _What in the hell is she doing?'_ The blond cried inside his mind. ' _She's going to make me explode all over the bedsheets. I can feel her body heat through her leggings, it's like there's nothing in between us right now.'_ The hero's mind was racing, he was in bliss, but he had no idea why she was doing this, and that's what worried him.

"Be honest, Naruto." The pinkette said very slowly, not in control of her words or actions at this point.

"Do you like it better when Ino gives you a massage like this or when I give you a massage like this?" The pink haired girl had no idea what she was saying, she was just so filled with jealousy and anger towards her rival that she wasn't acting right.

The hero tried to answer her but when he opened his mouth nothing but stutters and mumbles came out. He had no words for what was going on, we was so confused but couldn't complain one bit.

"You of course, Sakura-chan." The blond was able to control himself and calm himself down enough to think.

"But uh, Sakura-chan, could you maybe tell me why you are sitting on my back like that? I didn't ask you to, I only said that Ino did. You didn't have to." The blond was mentally beating himself for saying that, he didn't want her to stop, he never wanted her to stop this.

The pinkette looked down to see herself sitting on the back of the young hero. She had no idea why she had just climbed on and sat on him like this. Was she jealous that Ino had done it and she hadn't? The pink haired girl quickly tried to come up with an excuse to give Naruto.

"Oh it's nothing Naruto, don't worry about it. I'm just trying to get a better angle, that's all." The pink haired medic knew that the excuse was lame and weak, but hopefully the blond young man would fall for it.

The young blond hero was running this through his head, at first he was happy that Sakura had sat on his back but once she said that she was just trying to get a better angle his excitement left, that was the same thing that Ino told him. Surely there was no hidden meaning behind it.

"Oh, okay, Sakura-chan. Whatever you say."

The pinkette was going to get off Naruto at this point but she figured that if she stayed like this that he'll keep answering her honestly. The pink haired medic was wanting to know all about what the perverted Ino pig had done to her Naruto.

'My Naruto?' The girl questioned herself. 'Did I just say that? Why? He's not my Naruto, were just really close friends. Really close friends that sit on top of each other's backs when we give one another massages. What's so strange about that? Neither of us mind it.'

The pinkette's mind shot to an image of the young hero giving her a massage as well as he straddled her as he massaged her shoulders. The pink haired medic tried to shake those images away, but her mind wouldn't let go. She wished desperately for those sensations.

'Would he even give me a massage like this if I asked him for one?' The pink haired girl asked herself.

'Maybe he would, but would I be able to actually ask him for that? It's very different from me giving him a massage, in order for him to give me a massage like this I'd have to be topless.' The medic's mind froze, she imagined the thought of her being topless in front of the hero.

'No way in hell.' She thought to herself. 'I don't care how amazing it would feel, I'm not going to let that blond pervert see me topless.'

"Uh Sakura-chan?"

The pinkette snapped out of her daydream, looking to see the young hero with concern and question written on his face.

"Are you okay, you kinda spaced out there for a minute."

The pink haired girl tried to play it of as nothing as she waved the air as if waving her thoughts of the blond massaging her away.

"I'm fine, Naruto. Anyway, tell me more about Ino giving you massages all the time." The pinkette was hoping that he didn't catch on that she was snooping into what he and Ino had done. While the pink haired medic knew that Naruto would never do anything inappropriate as to actually sleep with Ino or anything like that it was a relief to hear it from him himself.

The blond gave a look like he was wondering why she was so curious.

"Why do you ask, Sakura-chan? Are you jealous that you didn't offer to massage my back first?" The young hero teased, not knowing how absolutely right he was. The blond laughed at his joke for a few seconds and the pinkette was trying not to blush, he had guessed right.

"No no no." The pinkette was trying not to look like the nervous wreck that she was. She didn't want Naruto to know that she was in fact jealous that Ino had gotten so close to her Naruto.

'My Naruto? Why did I say that again? He's not mine, we're just friends, right?" The pink haired girl shook that thought away and continued her questioning.

"I was just wondering, that's all. If you don't feel like answering then I'm just going to stop now." Her speech turned slow, almost seductive.

"You don't want me to stop, right?"

The pink haired girl was confused at her own words.

'Why am I talking like that? I sound like Ino?'

"Of course I don't, Sakura-chan." The hero blurt out quickly. He had no intention of ever having her stop. This was probably the closest that they would ever get, he wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.

"Good, then tell me what else about Ino massaging you.I wanna know everything." The hero thought for a few seconds, then he replied.

"Well I've pretty much told you everything already, Sakura-chan. I told you that Ino offered to massage my back after my training, and that she's been doing it after every one of my training sessions, even if I told her that she didn't need to." The blond took a few more seconds to think.

"Oh yeah, one more thing." The pinkette leaned in to hear his words, as if she weren't already more than close enough to the young blond hero.

"Before we were sent on this mission Ino told me that next time she gave me a massaging session that we couldn't use that same empty room in the hospital. Apparently granny is turning it into a normal room, so we can't use it. So Ino told me that we'd have to have the session at her apartment instead. But that's not really important, is it? You probably didn't want to know that."

'That perverted pig!' The pinkette screamed into her mind. 'She was actually going to try to get Naruto to sleep with her on his birthday. So that's how she was planning on getting him alone!' The pink haired girl could tell that Naruto was completely oblivious to her rival's plans and intentions, and it kinda got her a little upset.

The young blond hero continued, more to himself than to her.

"She also mentioned something about this weekend being special or important or something, I have no idea though." The hero mumbled to himself for a few seconds, trying to figure out what was so important about this weekend. He couldn't come up with anything, though.

'Wait, does he really not know what's so special about this weekend? Does he really have no idea that his birthday is this Saturday? How could he not know?' The pinkette thought to herself, how could he really be so oblivious that Ino had feelings for him? And not just Ino, but every other girl in the village as well? They practically threw themselves at him everyday. How could he not notice?

"Whatever, I have no idea why she was so adamant that we use her apartment, I suggested a few other places but she said that it had to be her apartment or no where else." The young hero scratched his head as he layed.

"I have no idea what she's thinking half the time. I'll never understand what she's thinking."

The pinkette facepalmed herself, hearing how oblivious he was. Because she had lotion that was well all dried up at this point she didn't get any on her face.

"That's because she wants to sleep with you, _baka_! How oblivious can you be?" The pink haired girl quickly tried to cover her mouth, she had obviously not meant to say that aloud.

The blond hero let out a laugh, which caused the girl on his back to shake, making her have to catch her balance so she wouldn't fall off of him. As she moved, her butt rubbed across the hero's back, causing him to stop laughing immediately and sent a shiver down his spine. That feeling almost made him explode.

The hero quickly composed himself.

"What are you talking about, Sakura-chan? Ino doesn't want to sleep with me, that'd be gross. She's just a friend." The blond teen laughed as if she had made a joke.

The pinkette was going to play it off as if she were joking like he thought but hearing how completely oblivious he was made her angry. Every girl in the village had a crush on him and he didn't realize it. How could anyone be so oblivious to someone else's feelings?

"I'm not kidding, Naruto. She actually wants to sleep with you, she told me herself. Almost everyone besides you knows."

The hero became silent and motioned for the pinkette to get off him as he sat up. She reluctantly complied and sat next to him on the bed, closer than she intended to. He looked at her for a few seconds. The girl tried not to blush as he looked at her like that. She couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

"I'm not as oblivious as everyone thinks, you know." He said quietly.

The pink haired girl gave him a skeptical look, Naruto was the most oblivious ninja in the village, what was he talking about?

The hero continued.

"I know what the people of the village think of me, always have. Since I was a kid I've seen how they look at me, their eyes filled with hate and fear, of me, of what was inside me." The blond placed a hand on his bare stomach.

"Growing up the village only saw me as a monster, a demon, and they treated me like such. I always tried so hard for them to notice me as myself, not for what they thought I was, so I pulled pranks to get that attention. Even after I became a ninja and fought countless battles they never treated any better or thought of me as anything else except a demon. It wasn't until I fought Pain and saved the village that they started treating me any different. It was night and day, Sakura-chan. If I had came back to the village the day before Pain attacked, the village would've looked at me with those same eyes. It wasn't until I saved them and showed them how I feel about them when they started to treat me like a person."

The hero turned from the pinkette and continued.

"I know how _everyone_ in the village thinks of me, it's either you fear me because of what I am, love me from what I've done, or dismiss me and my feelings for someone else. There is always someone who you like who will never return your feelings, they will never think of you as something else than they always have." The young blond winced at his words, he hadn't meant to say that to her.

The pink haired girl reached out to the young man next to her and placed a warm hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"Tell me who it is, Naruto. Who do you want to return your feelings?" The girl could see the pained expression on her friend's face, she wanted to know who was hurting him like this. It was strange for Naruto to show this vulnerable side of him, the pink haired girl was worried for him. The pinkette was also very curious to know who her best friend had a crush on, she knew that it couldn't be Ino, and she was happy about that. Could it be Hinata? She always had a crush on him growing up, she even told him that he loved him once. It couldn't possibly be her, could it? He said that this person didn't return his feelings, so it couldn't be Hinata. Then who could it be?

The young blond grew slightly angry at the pinkette's words, could she really call him oblivious when she couldn't tell his feeling for her? The hero let out a large fast breath out his nostrils, trying to call himself down. He didn't want to be mad at her, it wasn't her fault, she just wasn't the girl for him, she loved someone else.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan, you wouldn't know her. Besides," He let out a weak smile.

"Your friendship is more than enough to replace those feelings. Just keep being my friend and I'll survive." The pink haired girl blushed at his words, did their friendship really mean that much to him? She herself couldn't think of a life without Naruto always at her side but could her friendship really replace those feelings that he wants from someone else?

"But still-" The pinkette started but was cut off by Naruto.

"It's getting late, you should go take your bath first, I'll take mine after. We should start getting ready for bed, we have to get up early to meet the ship." He said, completely changing the conversation.

The hero got up and started going through his small travel bag for the trip and pulled a new shirt and slipped it on. The pinkette rose from the large comfortable bed as well and walked to the doorway to the bathroom before turning back to face him.

"Don't even think about trying to take a peek at me, Naruto. I'll pun-" The girl paused, she remembered that she had promised to never punch him again.

"I'll get really upset with you if you do. And I won't give you another massage if I catch you trying to look at me while I'm taking a bath." The pink haired girl's mind jumped back to the thought of the hero giving her a massage while she was topless, would it really that bad for him to see me naked?

'Of course it would!' The pinkette screamed to herself. 'Naruto's just a friend, and as my friend we shouldn't just see each other naked. Even if I have to admit that he's really hot, we shouldn't see each other naked. Besides, you heard him, he likes someone else, there's no way that he'd want to see me naked before the girl who he has a crush on. That'd just be wrong.'

The hero turned to face the pinkette.

"I promise that I won't try to peek at you, Sakura-chan. I already told you that I wouldn't anyway."

The girl smiled in response and turned to take her bath as she set up the shoji paper screen. It's not that she doesn't trust the blond hero she just doesn't want the first girl he sees naked to be her, that should be whoever he ends up marrying.

* * *

***Author's Note***

Thanks for reading. I'm so sorry that this chapter is going up late, I had a crazy last few days with work. I didn't have time Thursday or Friday to work on it. I was planning to upload a shorter chapter on Wednesday but I didn't like how it abruptly happened during the story, so I made the chapter longer. Please tell me if you guys want longer or shorter chapters, if longer then I might have to drop up one Naruto chapter a week btw.

Thanks for reading, please **Review** , it really helps, all feedback shows me how you guys are liking my story so far.

Thanks, Hephaestus


	9. Ch9: Both Words and Feet Slip

Chapter 9: Both Words and Feet Slip

***Author's Note***

Thanks for reading, sorry it's so late. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, thanks.

Hephaestus

* * *

Chapter 9: Both Words and Feet Slip

((Shikamaru/Temari POV))

"Hey, Shikamaru, what's our room number again?" The Sand shinobi asked the man walking next to her.

The genius of the Leaf glanced to the key in his hand, reading the number.

"201." He replied simply.

The woman looked the man next to her up and down. They had had a brief moment at the village when they were holding hands but the lazy man next to her hadn't brought it back up since. The young woman was secretly hoping for him to take initiative and take her hand as they walked to their room.

' _We are pretending to be a married couple, he could at least pretend that he likes me.'_ She thought to herself as they searched for their room.

'Maybe he really didn't like that I held his hand earlier, I thought that he did since he didn't let go but he hasn't said anything about it all day. I know that we were with the others as a group most of the day, so I get that he wouldn't want to hold my hand when the others were around but we don't have that problem anymore. We're all alone, he could at least look at me.' The young woman was starting to get fed up with the lazy man next to her. He hasn't smiled let alone looked at her since they left the others and headed to find their room.

"It should be around here somewhere, Tem. Probably around this corner." The genius said as me gestured to the hall coming up on their left.

"You getting tired of looking already? We've only been looking for a minute or so now." He said with a brief smile letting her know that he was messing around.

The Sand shinobi smiled when he called her 'Tem'. She knew that it wasn't much but it was the most affection he had ever shown her besides holding hands with her. It made her happy.

"It's just that I want to get off my feet and into a warm bath." The young woman replied.

"I know what you mean, we ran all day to get here. With all my work at the Hokage's Tower I haven't been on any missions as of late. I feel like I've gotten a little out of shape."

Temari attempted to cover her smile.

"I've got to agree with you there, Shikamaru. You look a little flabby to me." She sent a teasing smile his way.

The genius gave a fake insulted look.

"Oh, do you now?" Shikamaru asked, acting serious.

"I may not be as fit as Naruto or Lee but I'm far from flabby. You take one good look at me and tell me that I'm flabby." The young genius held out his hands and motioned to his body up and down.

The young woman blushed, her mind couldn't help it jump to the thought of his fit body in front of her. Surely he couldn't be flabby. She was just messing with him.

"Ah, there it is. Room 201, our room for the night." Shikamaru said as he gestured towards their door. The woman behind him looked out through the large window and onto the shore, she still hadn't gotten used to seeing so much water growing as she did in the desert.

"Finally, we're here. I can finally take a hot bath." The young woman replied as she stretched out her arms. She was really looking forwards to a nice long bath.

The genius opened their door and upon looking around he had only one thought:

"That might be a bit difficult, Tem. The bathroom wall is made of glass."

The young woman behind him snapped her head towards the man in the doorway upon hearing his words. What did he just say?

"The wall is made out of what?" She asked as she lightly pushed past him in the doorway and entered into their room for the night. Their bodies briefly rubbing into each other, she didn't have time to blush, she wanted to see what he was talking about. He was right, the wall separating the main room and the bathroom was entirely out of a very clear plate of glass. The tub that she so wished to spend the evening in was the centerpiece of the bathroom and stood above the floor. The rounded off square of a tub was in plain view of the bed and the small loveseat and chairs on the other corner of the room.

'How in the hell am I supposed to take a hot bath like this?' The young woman asked herself. Yes they were starting to get a little close but seeing each other naked as they took a bath was way too much of a step. They just started holding hands earlier today, they were not ready to make that step yet.

"Well we'll work something out, we have no choice. We can't just walk onto a ship to a private resort smelling like animals. That could blow our cover, no rich young person would do that."

The young woman blushed a little and tried her best to hide it. Does he really think that this isn't a big deal? How?

"Yeah but how are we going to do that?" She asked. From the corner of her eye she spotted a shoji screen that sat against the far wall. That would have to do for now until they thought of a better solution to their situation.

"We'll use this screen." She said, answering her own question. The man besides her gave a questioning look.

"You do realize that this screen is practically see-through, right? It just blocks out the color mostly. You can still see your shadows and figure through the screen."

Temari's eyes widened as she looked back to the screen next to her. She placed one arm behind it and realized that Shikamaru was correct, you could still see through it fairly easily. But it'd have to do, it was a limited amount of privacy but privacy nonetheless.

XxxxxXxxxxX

((Sai/Ino POV))

"Whaaa!?" The beautiful blonde let out as she saw the room that she was going to be spending with Sai for the night.

"The walls made of glass! Why's it made out of glass?" Ino's mind quickly jumped back to Naruto, if only billboard brow hadn't said anything to Kakashi sensei, she'd be spending the night with Naruto in this room. The girl screamed inside her head, if Sakura hadn't said anything than she'd be able to see Naruto take a bath and vice versa. Now she's stuck with this scrawny, pale, emotionless guy as a replacement. She was not happy to say the least.

"That damn Sakura, messing up with my plans." Ino shook her fist, if only she had been able to be with Naruto.

"What plan would that be, Ino?" The beautiful blonde was shook from her thoughts upon hearing his ever monotone voice.

"It's… none of your damn business, Sai." The girl replied angrily.

"Is that so? Alright, then." The pale ninja asked as he turned from her and began unpacking his belongings for the night.

Ino was a little put off, did he really just drop it that fast? She watched as he sorted through his pre arranged clothes for the mission. After a minute of looking through them and without showing any emotion he cleared off the bed and began setting up his pillow for the night.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" The beautiful blonde asked him, walking to the bed as well. She grabbed his pillow and tossed it to the loveseat to the side.

"You really think that I'd let you actually sleep in the same bed as me? You're lucky to just be able to share the same room with someone like me. You're sleeping over there." She pointed to the pillow she tossed across the room.

"Why can we not share the same bed? There is clearly enough room for two." The pale ninja questioned. This received a look from Ino.

"Because there's no way in hell that I'd ever share a bed with you of all people." She sighed, did she really have to explain this to him?

"The bed is that large because it's a couple's bed, Sai. It's meant for two people. But we're not a couple, so we're not sharing a bed."

Sai nodded in understanding before asking another question.

"Would you let Naruto share a bed with you, Ino?"

The beautiful blonde young woman immediately blushed. How had that seemingly unemotional guy read her so fast?

"Well I, uh, yes, I mean no, I uh." The girl fumbled with her words.

"What makes you think that, Sai?" She was finally able to ask.

The pale ninja shrugged his shoulders in response.

"It was just a thought. I had heard that you had intended to sleep with him at some point. So figured that you would do that now if you could. Would you not like to sleep with me?" He asks blanky.

The blonde was about to get angry and hit him for saying something like that when a thought hit her.

"Sai? Do you know what I meant when I said that I wanted to sleep with Naruto?"

He gave her a confused look.

"Did you not just mean that you wished to sleep next to him in a bed? Though I still do not see what is so important or significant about that, as it made you and Sakura fight earlier."

' _Is he serious?'_ Ino asked herself.

' _Does he really not get what we were talking about? Does he really not know what two people do when they 'sleep' with each other in the same bed? Just how innocent is this guy, jeez.'_

"Is there anything significant about you wanting to sleep with Naruto that would make Sakura so angry?" He asked simply.

The blonde woman got a little red. He really had no idea what they were talking about.

"That's because she's jealous." She replied quickly.

"Sakura was just mad because I wanted to sleep with him, that's all." Ino replied, hoping that that would satisfy his curiosity and get him to stop asking about it. It of course only filled him with more questions.

"Why would Sakura be jealous about that? She and Naruto have slept with each other before." He stated. Ino's hands were grabbing on his shoulders before he could blink.

'What?!" She demanded. She was holding his shoulders and giving him a death grip as well. Just thinking about Sakura sleeping with Naruto got her upset visibly.

"They what? How? When did this happen? Tell me." The angry blonde demanded.

The pale ninja was shaken when he was suddenly grabbed. He didn't know why Ino was so caught up on this. Surely it wasn't a big deal that Naruto and Sakura slept together.

"What is the problem with them sleeping together Ino? I saw them myself, nothing seemed wrong about it."

The poor guy was grabbed harder by the blonde woman. She was wanting all the details.

"You walked in on them? What exactly were they doing? How far along were they when you saw them, was it far? Was Naruto enjoying it?"

Sai gave her another confused look. He didn't understand her questions.

"Yes, I walked in on them, that is how I saw them sleeping with each other." Sai paused for a moment to think over her questions.

"To answer your questions they were not doing anything. They were both asleep on the bed. Sakura was holding Naruto really close, I was not aware that she got that close to him." Unfortunately for Sai this raised even more questions from Ino.

"Close? How close was she?" Ino tried imagining it in her head. There's no way that they actually did it, she would've heard about it.

"They were very close." Sai replied simply.

"Sakura was lying on Naruto's chest as they slept. Her arms were around him."

"What? She was what? How dare she, I claimed him first. Wait." Ino paused, looking back to the man who she was holding.

"Were they wearing clothes? I mean, what were they wearing? Were they naked?"

"Naked?" He asked with a confused face.

"No, they were not naked. But Naruto was not wearing a shirt and it seemed to me that Sakura was wearing his shirt as she slept. I also believe that she was wearing some shorts, however I am not so certain. When I saw that they were asleep I did not want to wake them so I left."

"She was wearing his shirt? What?" The beautiful blonde questioned. She ran through everything Sai told her in her head. Ino was under the impression that Naruto and Sakura hadn't had sex, hell, they weren't even dating. Was Sai lying to her?

"I am confused as to why this troubles you so much, Ino." He asked.

"I was under the impression that you were aware that they had slept together in the hospital. When we saw them in the morning you made several loud comments to Sakura about it. Did you forget?"

"Wait, what? You're saying that I already knew that they slept together? No I didn't." She stated. There was no way that she'd forget something like that.

Then a thought hit her like a brick.

"Wait, are you talking about when Naruto was unconscious in the hospital after his fight with Sasuke? When Sakura stayed by his bedside for days and finally fell asleep on his bed?"

The pale ninja nodded in reply and Ino had hold herself back from strangling him.

"That is not what I meant about 'sleeping with', Sai. That's completely different. Sakura and Naruto didn't do anything, she just fell asleep by his side. Jeez." She said, pulling her hands from him and placing a hand on her heart.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack Sai, don't say things like that." The pale ninja gave her another questioning look.

"Why did that almost give you a heart attack? Is there another kind of 'sleeping together' that I am not understanding?" He asked with his ever straight face.

Ino couldn't help but smile at his innocence, he had no idea about anything as far as she could tell.

"Wait, Sai. Do you really not get what I'm talking about when I say 'sleeping together'? Do you not know what that means?"

The pale ninja gave her a shake of his head. His face was clueless.

"No I do not, what does it mean?"

"Sai, do you really not know what sex is?" She questioned.

Sai's confusion seemed to lift from his face.

"Oh, you are referring to sexual intercourse. I have read about it in books. That is the act of when two people undress themselves and in an attempt to conceive a child, is it not?" Ino couldn't help but facepalm.

"Well that's the basic answer, yeah, but there's a lot more to it then that. Not everyone who has sex is trying to have a kid, Sai. That's just not how it works."

"Well what other reason is there for two people to do so if to not to try to conceive a child?" He asked, ever curious.

The beautiful blonde turned a bright shade of pink, why did he have to ask that? How much should she tell him? How would he react?

"Uh, because it feels fucking great." She answered simply, recalling the feelings she couldn't help but sway her hips back and forth.

To this the ever-stoic ninja gave her another curious look. His next question made her blush even more.

"So you have done it before, I assume?"

"What exactly are you trying to say, Sai? You think that I just do it with every guy I meet?" The pale ninja nodded his head in reply, this only angered the blonde.

"Why does everyone think that? I'm not like that! It's not like I just screw every guy who I see."

"Screw?" The pale ninja asked. The blonde facepalmed in reply.

"How are you so innocent? Have you never been told these things before? Weren't you taught this stuff as a pre-teen?"

"No." Was his answer. He continued with another question as per usual.

"But I am willing to learn, I have never come across it explained in detail in any of the books that I have read. Would you show me what it is like so that I can further understand?" His voice was curious and innocent but that didn't help Ino's reaction one bit.

"No way in hell! There's no way that I'd do it with you! You're out of your mind!" The blonde girl flipped and started yelling at the pale ninja before her.

"Why is that? Am I not a satisfactory partner? I am of the right gender and are sexually mature." He stated straightfaced. To this the blonde clenched her fists, faced upwards and groaned to the heavens.

"Aaahhhh! What is wrong with you? How can anyone be this clueless, seriously?" Ino breathed in a deep calming breath and let out a long sigh.

"If you don't get it then I'm not going to explain it to you. Figure it out yourself, I don't wanna talk about it anymore."

He continued his questioning.

"Why is that?" He inquired. She let out another sigh.

"Because I don't want to do sleep with you, that's why."

"Well is there someone who you would want to do it with?" The pale ninja questioned.

"Would you sleep with Naruto?" Was his simple question. The beautiful blonde almost fell over at his words.

The blonde's cheeks turned a shade of pink at the thought as her intensity and tone dropped several notches.

"Of course I would." The young blonde woman confessed.

"I dream about it every night. I wish for it so much."

Sai gave her a look to continue as he raised an eyebrow.

"That's why Sakura and I were fighting earlier. I want him so bad. I wish to feel his soft skin against mine so much it hurts. I want nothing more than for him to be with me, forever."

The girl paused as she lowered her head slightly and her voice lowered.

"It's not like I just wanna have sex with him, I care for more than that in a relationship. I really do. It's just that I want him to be mine and mine alone."

"Why? Why do you want that so badly?" The pale ninja next to her asked quietly, intrigued and trying to figure out her thought process. He was genuinely curious.

"Because I want to be loved." Was her simple, tear forming reply.

"I take one look at him and I can just feel the love that emits, that just emanates out of him for Sakura, yet she's completely oblivious to it. It makes me so jealous and angry. She has a man that loves her more than life itself and she doesn't realize it. He cares for her so much and she misinterprets all of his feelings for simple friendship. Yet she on the same hand is smitten by a man who's never once shown her a single shred of affection."

Her mind jumped to Sasuke. After Naruto changed his heart and brought him to the village, the reception was not exactly a friendly one. The people had not forgotten nor forgiven his actions and sins he had committed against them and the rest of the world. One of the only few people who had shown him any good will was Sakura. She was so happy to have him back, she followed him around those next few weeks like a love sick puppy dog. It was kind of sickening to watch, actually. And in all that time, even after all of her words and begging, he never once acknowledged her feelings towards him. Ino remembered him smiling as he told her to find someone who felt for her what she felt for him. Sasuke even aimed his gaze towards his knuckle-headed friend to give Sakura an idea who he'd been referring to, she didn't even notice.

"Look, I know that Naruto loves Sakura, and that he wouldn't love me, I know that. It's plainly obvious, but I just want to feel that amount, that pure form of love from a man. It's something that… in all of my previous relationships, that... I've never felt before." Her words towards the end turned solemn, sad, almost like she never actually expected to ever feel it.

"It's just something that I never expect to feel from anyone." Her voice lowered after each word.

The weeping blonde recalled her conversation with Temari earlier that day, today was a day of confessions as it turned out. And to say that she never expected to admit these things to Sai would be a complete understatement, he's not what you call an emotional person. He never knows what to say in a situation like this, he just couldn't do it. Upon hearing his next words she threw all of her previous words away, she has never been so wrong before in her life.

"This is not something that I have read in a book, so I was not too sure if it were the case, but as I have watched and studied you all in the village these past few years I have learned it to be true. And that is this: that no matter who you are, whether you are surrounded by the masses or avoided by them, that there is always someone who loves you. You may never accepted by the rest of the world but there is always one person who loves you."

He took a small breath, he was feeling a tightening sensation in his chest that he could not place.

"Take Sasuke for example, he is hated by the world, they wish him dead, yet Sakura loves him while she can not explain why."

Sai took a small step towards her and gave her a smile that he never knew that he could make, a genuine and caring smile that he knew in his mind not to be fake.

"If you need me to be so, than I would be happy to be the one who loves you. If you can not receive it from Naruto then I can give it to you."

Ino's eyes widened and her jaw dropped to the floor, what did he just say?

He continued, yet it was difficult for him to come up with the words.

"I have come to like and care for all of you. You have all shown me what it is felt like to be cared for in such a way, something that I never felt in the Foundation. You are all like family to me, as close to me as my brother. Yet when I see, yet alone look at you I feel something that I never have experienced before. I have spent many hours in the library trying to figure that feeling out. There were many names for it, affection, attachment, devotion, adore, but I think that the word that best describes it is love. I never knew how to think about or how to feel about it before but when I heard your words and saw you crying, saying that you felt like you would never be truly loved, it… it made my heart ache in ways that I never thought possible before. In the Foundation we were stripped of our feelings at a young age, I lived most of my life without feeling anything for another human being, and once I got out I started to feel things and emotions that I never felt before. Yet what I feel for you is something that I have never felt for anyone else." The pale ninja stopped as he realized that he had been uncharacteristically going on and on, not being able to fully understand and explain his words. This was an all new feeling for him, he didn't know what to do, he didn't even know if telling her this was the right thing to do.

The pale ninja looked to the platinum blonde girl in front of him to see silent tears flowing from her blue orbs. It sent thought of worry down through his mind. Had he said something wrong? Was he wrong in thinking that what he had felt was love? He had never felt it before, it was possible that he could be wrong.

"Ino, I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" He asked frantically.

"Do you really mean that, Sai?" The sobbing blonde asked.

"Do you really love me? Or are you just saying that to be nice?"

"I would never lie about anything like this, InoI really mean it, I can not describe it, yet I know what I feel for you is something special. I… I do not know how to feel about it, though. I do not know what to do. I-" The pale ninja was cut off as the young woman dashed forwards and hugged him, pressing their bodies together as hard as she could. It was not what she felt towards anyone she had ever dated. His words felt so true, so real. He had to be telling the truth.

Yet she didn't know how to feel about it, she had had a crush on him when he first joined Team Seven since he looked so cool and mysterious but she never thought that those initial feelings would turn to something like this. She had always pictured herself with someone else besides him, it's not like she had anything against him, it was just that this wasn't expected. Not even a little bit, to her not was so out of left field. This man, who had such a problem with feeling and understanding emotions just told her that he loved her, she didn't know what to feel. So she did what she felt was right, she held him close, tearing up from his kind words she began to think of the pale man in a different light.

XxxxxXxxxxX

((Shikamaru/Temari POV))

"Hey Shika, can you go over the specifics for the mission with me? I wanna make sure I got everything down before the morning since we can't risk taking the mission plans with us to the resort." The young woman who was now changed into a more relaxing set of clothes asked. She was sitting there nervously on the bed, she had just tried calling him 'Shika', she had never called him that before. She hoped that he was okay with it and that it would help him not feel so nervous around her.

The Nara heir shifted in his seat on the chair a few feet besides the bed. He heard what she called him, it made him smile inside.

"Our mission had two basic steps." He explained.

"First we will be infiltrating the resort under false identities, identities of rich young couples. In our case we are pretending to be a young married couple."

"Why are we the only ones to be set up as a married couple?" She asked, wondering if there was a reason why.

The man sitting a few feet away shrugged his shoulders.

"No idea. My best bet is that it would've just made it suspicious is a lot of us were married since we're so young. Out of everyone we look the oldest, that's probably why. I don't know for sure, though." His answer sounded more like a question to her.

She gave him a look, had he forgotten that she was older than him?

"That's because I am older than all of you. I'm twenty years old, two years older than all of you."

"I know that, Tem. It's not like I forgot how old you were. I was just saying that we both look older than the others, that's all."

"Anyway." He continued.

"Are job is to gain the trust of the other vacationers and work our way up to the manager, whom we believe to be running the ring. And so begins the second part of our mission, from there we will gain access to their smuggling ring and inside we will gather all of the evidence needed to convict them. After that we will move to arrest and apprehend all the guilty parties." Temari nodded at his response, it was basically what he said earlier.

"How long do you think it'll take us to gain their trust and get into their inner circle?" She asked as she stretched her arms above her head.

"We believe that it might take most of the mission to be able to get them to gain trust in us. Mostly everyone there is all well connected and regular customers, we will e outsiders coming in. What's more, it might be difficult to get the manager to trust us, I've heard that he's a… difficult man to be around, to say the least."

"How so?" The Sand shinobi questioned.

"Let's just say that he's the kind of man that thinks that he can do whatever he wants without dealing with the consequences and leave it at that for now. We'll be meeting him the day after next, you can find out then the kind of man he is then."

The Sand ninja was about to say something in return when the genius eyed the clock.

"It's starting to get late, we should start getting ready for bed here soon."

"Good idea, Shika. I'll go ahead and take my bath right now, you can take yours after." The blonde woman rose from her seat on the very comfortable bed and went to grab a change of underwear from her prepacked bag for the mission. Upon opening the bag she nearly yelped, the bag that had been labeled as her underwear, nightgowns and swimsuits bag was filled with nothing more than a dozen sets of skimpy looking sets of underwear and swimsuits. The two nightgowns were no better. Who in the hell packed her luggage? She sighed and grabbed the pair of underwear that was the most modest out of the bunch, and by modest she means the one that showed the less skin and headed to the glass walled bathroom.

Temari set up the shoji as she let the water heat up before she began to fill the tub.

"Now don't you go getting any ideas, Shika. If I catch you even trying to take a look at me I'll knock you into the next millennia."

The genius sighed at her threat.

"Well how about you start by closing the sliding glass door and getting behind the shoji screen? Then I won't be able to see you. And don't worry, I'm not going to try to watch you take a bath."

"And why not?" She asked, a little upset that he sounded so sure. She at least wanted him to struggle with not taking a peek at her. Then she'd really know if he liked her.

"Because I don't wanna join my old man and Asuma sensei so soon. I have better things to do then die young." He answered as he laid back on the soft bed and put his arms behind his head. His plan right now was to relax on this incredibly comfortable bed until she got out. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep on the bed tonight so he decided to enjoy it while he could.

"You think that I'd kill you for trying to peek at me in the bath?" She questioned. Not thinking that's what he thought.

"Honestly I'd probably try to kill you if you didn't." She muttered under her breath as she closed the sliding glass door between the two rooms. Behind the 'cover' of the shoji paper screen the blonde woman started to undress. She paused as she got to her fishnet underarmor, it was her last line of defense before she stood completely naked with only a thin, practically see through paper screen between her and her crush who laid on a bed no more than ten feet away. From behind the screen she raised an arm and tossed her old, dirty clothes next to her new set that she set out.

' _Why am I so nervous? It's only Sakimaru, it's not like he's some pervert.'_ She thought to herself as she held her arms in front of her chest.

' _Knowing him he'd be the only guy not to try to take a peek at me.'_ She sighed to herself. Considering he was the only guy who she'd want to try to take a peek at her it got her a little upset.

Ino's words from the morning came to her mind as she made her way into the warm embrace of the hot bath.

' _Just let him 'accidentally' see you naked in the shower, that ought to do the trick._ ' Were her friend's words.

' _No way, I'm not that desperate for him to notice me yet. He's going at his own pace, a slow pace, I might add, but he's trying his best. He's not exactly the most emotional guy out there.'_

The blonde bathed for awhile all the while she couldn't shake Ino's words from her head. What would it hurt if he saw her naked? He surely wouldn't mind, would he? Of course not. The young woman kept going back and forth on the idea, not being able to decide. Not before long she decided to drop the idea and get out of the tub. Removing the plug from the drain she began to rise from the warm comforting waters and reached for her clothes to find only air in their place.

'What the hell?' She thought to herself. She could've sworn that she left them right outside the tub so she could get out and still be covered by the screen. She fished around for them before seeing that they were clear across the other side of the room on the counter.

'Well now what am I going to do?' She thought to herself, her heart rate increasing a little. Her first thought was to just walk over and grab them but that idea was instantly killed, if she did that then she'd be in plain view of her crush, completely naked and dripping wet. She wasn't ready for him to see her like that yet.

"Shit." She said aloud. She came to a decision adnin her mind the only solution was to have Shikamaru walk over and hand it to her from the other side of the screen. Now she only had to work up the courage of actually asking him to do something like that. A thought quickly hit her, she had also forgotten to bring her nightgown in, she had only grabbed a set of underwear. She'd have to ask him to go over and grab one from her bag. The girl winced, she had seen the contents of the bag not so long ago. She didn't really want him to see those kinds of clothings but it was the lesser of the two evils. It was either him seeing the provocative clothing and the awkward situation or seeing her butt naked. She chose the former.

"Hey, Shika!"She called out over the sound of the draining tub. As it was too loud to hear she plugged it again, about half of the water still remained.

"Shika! Can you hear me?" She called out, trying to get him to hear her through the solid wall of glass. She watched as he turned his gaze to the bathroom and lowered his arms.

"Yeah?" He called back questioningly. He hoped that she didn't think that he had been watching her. He had managed to not look in her direction once, he was proud of his accomplishment, it was harder than he thought it would be.

"Can you come here for a minute?" She asked from behind the screen. Hearing this the young genius gulped, what was she trying to pull, she threatened to beat him silly if he peeked at her and now she's asking him to come over? What's she plotting?

"Uh, sure Tem. Be right there!" He called from the other side of the glass.

Upon reaching the sliding glass door he froze, should he just open it? She did tell him to come over. He slowly pulled the door to the side and peeked his head in, his face was meet with the hot sensation of steam and humidity from the bath.

"Yeah, Tem? You need something?" He asked cautiously, still not knowing what was going on.

The young blonde woman stood with her back to him, her arms shielding her chest. She blushed a little upon hearing his words, he was just three feet away.

"Can you please do me a favor and get something for me, Shika?" She asked, her voice straining from sheer nervousness.

"Yeah, of course. What is it?" Was the man's response. She couldn't help but smile.

"It's my nightgown. It's in the bag they set up for me. It's the small blue one next to the dresser. There should be two of them, grab one and bring it to me, please."

Shikamaru raised an unseen eyebrow. What exactly was she plotting? She already had a set of clothes in here, he saw her bring them in herself. His eyes drifted to the side of the room where we saw both her old clothes and her new set of underwear lying on the counter.

'Wait, she's not wearing anything?' He asked himself. How was he supposed to hand it to her and not look at her?

Snapping out of his dilemma he agreed and turned to walk to the dresser where her bags sat. The young genius easily found the small bag and picked it up, placing it on the dresser as he began to open it. As he lifted the lid he felt as if he were about to fall over as he saw the other contents of the the bag were several very tight, revealing and frilly sets of underwear. A few sets of even more revealing bikinis, one of which was a bright cherry red that he couldn't help but notice and finally two also very revealing nightgowns. He picked it up and looked at the fabric, it was almost see through. Who picked her clothes for this mission? These were all completely inappropriate.

'Calm down, Shikamaru.' He thought to himself. He figured that he'd never have to worry about seeing her in the underwear because she'll be wearing them under her clothes. As for the bikinis he couldn't image Temari actually wearing them. Not that he didn't want to.

"Is there a problem?" I still naked and still very wet blonde called from the other room.

"No, no. No problem. I got it, Tem!" He called back, closing the bag and shaking his dirty thoughts from his mind.

The genius reached the bathroom again and made his way to the screen before stooping in front of it.

"I have your nightgown, Tem." He announced, holding it out behind the other side as he turned his head to face the other way.

"Th- thanks, Shika." She answered from her side of the screen. The shoji paper screen was plenty long and the tub sat in the middle of it, so she had to reach quite a bit to be able to reach the nightgown.

"Can you reach a bit more? I can't reach it." She asked as a wave a light pinkness washed across her face. His hand has just a foot or so away from her naked body.

"Uh sure, no- no problem." He mumbled as he leaned in to reach the clothing to her, all the while keeping his gaze fixed upon the sink fixture on the other side of the room. Not wanting to give into his primal urges. He was better than that, and she didn't deserve that anyway.

Temari saw his arm appear from behind the paper screen and the thoughts of letting him see her naked flashed in her mind. She only had to 'accidentally' knock the screen over and he'd see her in all her glory, every bit and piece. Shaking those thoughts from her head she reached out to grab the almost see through garment. As she stretched to reach, as soon as her hand gripped the nightgown she fell victim to gravity and began to fall forwards from her leaning forwards to grab her clothing.

In an instant her body took over and threw her weight backwards, as to not fall on her face. This would've been a good plan if it were not for that fact that both the two held on the nightgown at the same time. Falling back, she unfortunately pulled the unknowing genius, causing him to fall as well.

In the blink of an eye Temari found herself back in the large tub laying on her back. Her momentum caught by the water so that she didn't hit the hard bottom of the tub.

The genius found himself in the tub lying down with his face buried into her stomach. He went to look up at her and as he did his eyes came face to face with her large breasts. He instantly froze, his eyes were a mere three inches from the point of her nipple. The young man attempted to get up but as he did his knee rubbed her sensitive spot in between her legs. Sending a powerful wave of pleasure and wanting through the blonde's body.

She couldn't help but let out a groan of pleasure, it was rough but it felt good, very good. The young woman clenched her cheeks and tightened her opening at his sudden touch. She hadn't thought that something as simple as that would send her body into a mad panic like it had.

Temari looked down to see the man on top of her, she nearly yelped. Her face doned a very red shade of pink as she saw the man whom she had a major crush on with his face practically in her breasts. The man tried again to move which caused his knee to rub her opening again which sent an even more powerful wave of sensations through her entire being.

Shikamaru stared at her breasts, they were just inches from him. He tried to look away but was having a hard time fighting his body to look away. He saw her face look down at him on top of her and he instantly took in a big breath of air as he tensed up. Without intending to he released the air through his slightly open mouth, causing his cool breath to wash over her already steadily growing nipples, causing them to harden and pop out to their full length instantly.

The two remained in their awkward and embarrassing positions for what seemed like an eternity. They each just stared into the eyes of the other and froze. It seemed like forever before Shikamaru managed to gather a single thought:

' _Damn! I'm sorry dad, Asuma sensei, looks like I'm going to be joining you sooner than I thought.'_ He was so convinced that she was going to kill him for this, he was lying on top of her naked body, his knee in her crotch and his eyes about to be poked by her nipples. There was no way that he'd survive this encounter.

XxxxxXxxxxX

***Author's Note***

Thanks so much for reading, sorry again for getting this out so late. Have had a busy week at work. But good news, as of Monday I'm going to be going back to my regular work schedule. No more double shifts for me, yay! So I should have a lot more time to write. I also finally got caught my with the manga for My Hero Academia, that was one of the things that seemed to always take my writing time from me.

Anyway, please **Review** , **Favorite** and **Follow** both me and this Story.

Please give me feedback on this chapter, it really helps me improve and helps show me what you guys do and don't like.

Thanks, until next time this has been Hephaestus


	10. Ch10: A Special Bond

Chapter 10: A Special Bond

***Author's Note***

 _ *****EDITED And REUPLOADED*****_

Hey guys, FF has been screwy for me lately so I hope that you all get the notification that I uploaded this chapter and are able to see that it's updated. Last week it didn't tell anyone that I updated and uploaded a new chapter so I had much fewer views this week then on average. But I digress, thanks for reading and please **Review** , **Follow** and **Favorite** , it really helps.

This has been my longest chapter yet for this story so I hope that you enjoy it. Before we begin I just want to give you a heads up that Kurama might be a bit out of character in this chapter. I have him consider Naruto his closest friend and have him care for him as well. I don't think that that's too out there for the end of the series but I figured that I should at least let you know that no one's confused or thinks that I got Kurama wrong or something.

And now back to what you've all been waiting for…

XxxxxXxxxxX

(Shikamaru/Temari POV)

The two remained in their awkward and embarrassing positions for what seemed like an eternity. They each just stared into the eyes of the other and froze. It seemed like forever before Shikamaru managed to gather a single thought:

' _Damn! I'm sorry dad, Asuma sensei, looks like I'm going to be joining you sooner than I thought.'_ He was so convinced that she was going to kill him for this, he was lying on top of her naked body, his knee in her crotch and his eyes about to be poked by her nipples. There was no way that he'd survive this encounter.

Coming to his senses, Shikamaru quickly got off of the naked woman under him. Backing away and climbing onto the edge of the tub. He swung his legs over the edge to get up before he turned his back to her and fumbled out an apology.

"I.. I'm so sorry, Tem. I, uh… I didn't mean to fall on you like that. I, I didn't mean to look at you like that either." The normally composed genius was besides himself, so many emotions and chemicals were flowing through his body. Making it extremely difficult even for this young genius to think.

"I'm sorry, Tem. It was an accident, you know that I'd never do that, right?" All the while keeping his view from her Shikamaru runs everything that happened through his powerful mind. He was expecting to get slapped into the next millennia after this. He was expecting to get an earful from her, but nothing came, no threats on his life, no lecture, nothing. After a few seconds of silence he decided that it'd be best to just leave, give her some time to come to terms with what happened and most importantly calm down.

The young blonde woman was still in shock, the man whom she had been crushing on for some time had just seen her naked. More than that he fell on her naked body. He got off of her and sat on the edge of the tub with his back turned to her. Temari's body was hot, it was on fire from their encounter, and her body wanted nothing more than to feel that sensation again. It was a few seconds before she was able to think.

' _Shit! He saw me, he was on me! Wha...what am I supposed to do now? He's apologizing, should I apologize too? It was my fault, it was an accident after all. I thought about letting him see me naked but I didn't mean for him to actually…'_ Temari started to turn even more red, if that were even possible. She held her hands to her breasts and thought:

' _Did he not like seeing these? He didn't saw anything about it. Does he, does he not find me attractive?'_ Temari thought to herself for a few seconds during the awkward silence about whether or not Shikamaru actually found her attractive, he's never once said anything about it, and now that he had not only seen her naked but laid on her as well she was sure that he didn't actually find her attractive. She is shaken from her thoughts when she sees her drenched crush begin to stand from the tub, preparing to walk away. In a moment she leans forward and takes his hand stopping him.

"Wait, Shika. Did you… did you not like what you saw? Do you not think I'm attractive?" The blonde ninja wasn't thinking straight she didn't know what she was saying.

The black-haired genius slightly moved his head in her direction, while keeping his view fixed on the sink, not being able to calm himself about what just happened. He replied:

"You don't think that I liked what I saw?" He asked, a small unseen smile creeping across his usual stoic face.

"Tem, I won't lie to you. I am a guy if you haven't noticed, and we guys tend to like seeing naked girls."

Temari grew upset when she heard this, he didn't really answer her. He always did this whenever she asked him something like this. He always answered without really answering, it really pisses her off.

"That's not what I asked, Shika, and you know it." The naked blonde woman said, growing upset.

"I asked you if you thought that I'm attractive. You don't, do you? You've never once said anything about it, you've never even looked at me in that way. How can you not? I thought that we, we were, I don't know… dating, or at least something? How can you not think I'm attractive and be with me?"

Unbeknownst to her Shikamaru's face froze. He had no idea that she thought that he didn't actually find her attractive. He didn't know that she was so worried that he didn't actually like her. How could she think that?

"You didn't let me finish, Tem. I have had a major crush on you for years now. You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, so do you really think that I would not think that you're attractive?" When she didn't reply he let out a sigh before he began to stand from the tub wall and moved to walk away before Temari suddenly grabbed his arm, swung him around and pulled him back to her, planting a kiss on his face.

Shikamaru's eyes widened, his mind once again imploding. All of a sudden Temari, the girl whom he liked was kissing him. Without hesitation he returned the kiss, leaning in closer to her naked form. The two stop after a few seconds to come up for air. Panting he asks:

"Tem, why, why did you do that?" He questioned, his mind still not working. The naked blonde in front of him let out a small smile.

"Because I love you too, idiot. You know, you're the dumbest smart person I know, how could you not tell?" The sand shinobi let out a loud gasp when the drenched man in front of her pulled her in and began attacking her lips.

The two soaked teens continued their kissing for a minute before Shikamaru began to slow the pace down and seemed to be stopping much to the displeasure of his blonde partner.

"What's the matter, Shika?" She asked, concerned. He stopped their kissing almost abruptly and pulled back a few inches, while still not letting go of her shoulders.

"Do you not want to kiss me?" She asked. He gave her a reassuring smile to crush those thoughts.

"It's not that I don't want to, Tem. I am absolutely fine with kissing you, I mean why wouldn't I be? I just don't think that we should go any further yet."

The blonde gave a slightly confused look, all the while still trying to pull him back in for another kiss.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

The black haired genius raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Don't try to act innocent, Tem. I felt you try to feel me up down there." He said, looking down to his crotch.

Temari followed his gaze and froze, unknowingly she had her hands on the inside his thighs, ready to grab his manhood. She blushed even more than before, she had no idea that she had been doing that.

"Not that I am opposed to you doing that or anything but I think that we should at least pretend to take our time." He said as he returned his gaze to her eyes.

The blonde Sand ninja was once again confused by his words.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked.

The Nara heir smiled and let out a chuckle, as he repositioned himself in the tub and gestured down to her crotch.

"I don't know if you've noticed or not Tem, but you're completely naked and partially laying on me. We're just a few seconds away from making out in this tub. I just think that we should come to our senses before we go too far and get carried away."

Temari followed his gaze once again and saw her exposed opening just a few inches away from his covered enlarged member. Her body was shaking, wanting his so badly it shocked her.

Smiling she replied with a sigh.

"Maybe you're right, Shika. I mean, you should've taken me out to dinner first, but there you go trying to have sex with me in a tub just like that out of the blue." She gave him a playful smile.

He returned her look and replied:

"Oh really? Well in case you weren't paying attention _you_ were the one you started it. You kissed me first."

She playfully hit him on the arm.

"Well what did you expect me to do? You called me beautiful and told me that you liked me, how do you expect me to react? It's your fault." The Nara heir returned her look with a smile before looking back down to her naked body before quickly trying to cover his view of her with his hand. This raised a question from his blonde partner.

"What are you doing, Shika? Why are you covering your eyes now, you've already seen pretty much everything there is to see."

"I know that, Tem. But it's hard to concentrate with you being naked, dripping wet and lying almost on my lap. I'm trying my best to look you in the eyes right now." The Sand shinobi let out a pouting look and began to get up.

"Well if you're going to be like that then I'm just going to get ready for bed if you don't want me to stay like this. Now, would you please hand me my towel?" She asked as she tried her best to once again cover her naked body from her crush. But it wasn't really working as her arm only pressed in her large breasts in and made Shikamaru's eyes have an even harder time looking away from them.

It took a few seconds but he finally got up out of the tub and fetched her towel. Handing it to her he turned back around and began to walk out of the room to let her change. He knows that he just saw her naked everything but he figured it only polite and the proper thing to do to give her some privacy to change. Leaving the room he began to set out a fresh pair of shorts and a shirt for the night. Even though he was drenched he still needed to take his own bath. He dried himself off enough as to not wet the bed and he sat on the bed thinking about what happened until she came out of the bathroom.

Once she was covered by her towel the Sand shinobi grabbed her frilly underwear and nightgown and went back behind the 'safety' of the shoji screen to change.

' _Damn that Shikamaru. Why does he have to be like that? I was more than willing to let him see me like that and to keep kissing. I kinda wanted to go further.'_ The blonde let out a sigh and slipped her revealing bra on over her large breasts and lifted her tiny underwear over her butt.

' _I don't understand him sometimes, I mean we were this close to, to, taking the next step. Maybe he's right, maybe we should at least try to take our time. If he doesn't want to rush anything then we shouldn't. I've waited this long for him to even look at my chest, I can wait a little more.'_ She let out another sigh and grabbed her nightgown and took another look at it.

' _How am I supposed to wear this, it's practically see through?'_ She asked herself. The blonde shrugged her shoulders deciding not to worry about it, he had already seen her naked anyway, what could the harm in letting him see her in this be? She slipped the revealing nightgown over her shoulders and stepped out behind the shoji screen and headed to the sink to wash her hands and brush her teeth, to get ready for bed. As she did she could see her crush out of the corner of her eye through the glass wall waiting patiently for her to get out so that he could take a shower as well. She decided to take her time, she was still a little upset that he decided to stop when he did. She respected his decision but still wasn't exactly happy about it. So she decided to take her time and make him stand there waiting outside the door.

XxxxxXxxxxX

(Sakura POV)

The hero turned to face the pinkette.

"I promise that I won't try to peek at you, Sakura-chan. I already told you that I wouldn't anyway."

The girl smiled in response and turned to take her bath as she set up the shoji paper screen. It's not that she doesn't trust the blond hero she just doesn't want the first girl he sees naked to be her, that should be whoever he ends up marrying.

The pinkette began to fill the tub behind the relative cover of the almost see through shoji paper screen. Undressing a little slowly out of nervousness she went over what the hero said not a few minutes ago. He said that he said that he had feelings for someone but they didn't have them for him in return. The medical ninja thought about who it could be.

' _Who does he have a crush on? It can't be Hinata can it? He said that whoever it was didn't like him, everyone in the village knows that Hinata has a major crush on him. So it can't be her. If it were then they would already be together. If it's not her then who could it be?'_ The pinkette ran through all the other girls their age that he knew.

' _It can't be Ino, he said that he wasn't interested in her and was uncomfortable around her himself. I'm kinda glad about that, I don't want that pig using Naruto for her own enjoyment.'_ She turned off the water before checking the temperature, it was perfect, now the only thing left was to hop in and enjoy an nice, long, relaxing bath.

Sliding into the warm embrace of the water Sakura thought about the other possibilities for Naruto's crush.

' _Who's left? Just Tenten and Temari right?'_ The pinkette imagined the blond hero with the two girls in question, she couldn't imagine him with either of the two.

' _It couldn't be Tenten, could it? I just don't see that happening. What about Temari then? I don't see them together at all. She's way too, strict and demanding for him. He deserves someone a bit more mellow and relaxed to compensate for his over the top nature.'_

Washing her hair the pink haired medic ran through a few more ideas.

' _Is it maybe one of the non-ninja villagers I don't know? They sure do follow him around and ask him out a lot. Maybe it's one of them.'_ Sakura ran through some of the other girls in her head, before coming to the realization that she didn't really know any of them very well. She knew a few by name but she didn't hang out with any of the civilians very often. She tended to stay with her small group of ninja friends.

Soaking in the tub the pinkette went through more ideas of who it could be.

' _What about that one girl that he met with Lord Jiraiya? What was her name, Shizuka from the Nadeshiko Village, right? Didn't she try to get Naruto to marry her? Could it be her?'_ She thought about it for a few seconds before coming to a quick decision.

' _No, it couldn't be. She's in the same boat as Hinata, if Naruto liked her then they'd be dating already. Who could it be?'_

Speaking to herself aloud now she started talking to herself.

"Man, why does he have to have a crush on someone _else_?" The pinkette lowered into the water a little more.

"That knuckle-head had a major crush on me when we were kids, and now that I'm actually getting interested in him a bit he's lost those feelings. It's been a few years since he asked me out on a date or tried to impress me with flowers or a gift. It seemed like everyday that he asked me out, and now that I'd actually consider saying yes that he stops. Why does the universe hate me?" She asked aloud to the empty bathroom.

"First I had a major crush on Sasuke-kun and he never gave me the time of day. He always rejected my feelings for him. At the same time Naruto always tried to ask me out and I rejected his feelings. And now that we're grown up and I actually wouldn't mind having one date to see how it goes with him he does a complete one eighty and stops having feelings for me." The pink haired girl sunk even lower into the water. Her nose was skimming just above the water.

"Maybe it's karma." She said, continuing her thoughts aloud.

"Maybe it's what I get for being so mean to him when we were kids and rejecting his feeling so harshly every time. I mean, even if I were to ask him out would he even believe me? What have I ever done to show him that I might actually like him?" In an instant her mind skipped to that cold day in the Land of Iron where she knows that she broke his heart.

"How could I do that to him?" She asked, looking to her hands as she remembered her words and actions.

"I told him that I love him, I hugged him, I even thought about trying to convince him by kissing him… but I couldn't bring myself to do it." The pinkette dropped her head into her hands.

"How could he ever forgive me for that? I lied to him, saying that I loved him. I knew that he had feelings for me back then. I knew how much me saying those words would mean to him. How… how can he still even look at me? He never showed it but I know that I hurt him. I must've broken his heart." Instantly her head snapped up and her tear filled eyes shot open.

"That's it, that's when it happened. That's when he stopped having a crush on me… when I broke his heart." She couldn't help but let her eyes tear up. That's when she sealed her fate with him.

Through quiet sobs she uttered:

"Even if I want anything from him I won't get it from him… it's all my fault. If I hadn't hurt him like that then he might actually still have feeling for me."

After a few minutes the pinkette wiped the tears from her eyes and calmed her nerves. She thought of the numerous times that Naruto had asked her out when they were kids, but one in particular stood out. She couldn't help but reminisce.

((Flashback, at Ichiraku's before Naruto left with Master Jiraiya))

"Sakura-chan, you're looking beautiful as always. Please, take this." The pinkette had been standing outside Ichiraku's waiting for her teammates when Naruto had walked up behind her and spoke. Turning around she saw the bouquet of red roses in one hand and in the other a box of chocolate. He wore his usual wide smile and held the items out to her.

"Happy birthday, Sakura-chan. I know that you said that I didn't have to get you anything but I couldn't not get you anything for your birthday. So, here you go. Ino told me that these were your favorite flowers so I bought a whole bouquet of them. I didn't know what your favorite kind of chocolate was so I got some dark chocolate, I hope that you like them."

Sakura couldn't help but smile at this kind gesture, it was unlike Naruto to be thoughtful like this, it almost made her blush, almost. That was of course until he decided to open his mouth again.

"So Sakura-chan, I was thinking, that since it's your birthday and all that I'd take you out for some dinner, it doesn't have to be at Ichiraku's either. Wherever you want to go and we'll go. It could be a sort of date-" The young blond was cut off by a whack to his head by the pinkette.

"A date? What makes you think that I'd ever want to go on a date with you, Naruto? And stop buying me flowers and candy every other week, it's getting old. A no's a no. I thought that I made it perfectly clear that I was never going to date you. Now, if you'd get out of the way Sasuke's coming." She raised a fist and shook it aggressively.

"Now get lost, I want to eat with Sasuke by myself." The young blond's face dropped as did the flowers and chocolate in his hands. He turned and walked away.

((End flashback))

Looking back on it Sakura remembers that she didn't see Naruto for a few days after that. He also never again got her any flowers or chocolate for her birthday. That's not to say that he never got her anything, two years ago he got her a new picture frame for her picture of Team seven. Along with a matching one with the two of them hanging out in the village. For her last birthday a few months ago he went all the way out to the Land of Stone and got her a beautiful sakura tree forged out of pink glass and metal wires. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. It stood several inches tall and had shaped and polished wires wrapped together to form a tree. The tree itself was stunning but what made her heart stop was the amazingly detailed branches of the tree. Each wire was bent by hand to form a realistic looking branch. And on the end of each of the branches was a piece of pink stained glass shaped into a cherry blossom. The pinkette had no idea how someone could even make something of that detail out of glass. When she opened the tree sculpture from Naruto her heart stopped, it was so beautiful. She remembered asking but he never told her how much he had paid for it, he told her that it didn't matter, he was happy to get it.

Thinking that over Sakura couldn't help but feel tears for in the corners of her eyes once again. But these tears were different from the ones before, she couldn't help but smile and be happy at that memory. Naruto always went out of his way to make her happy and to get her nice things. She couldn't figure out why he had feelings for her though, she had never once returned his feelings and was rarely even nice to him as kids. So why did he always try to make her happy?

"It's a shame." The pinkette said the the empty bathroom, coming out of her thoughts.

"Once he starts dating someone he won't be able to do things like that for me anymore. I was really getting used to getting that close to him. It may suck but he should be with who he wants to be with, I should stop acting all clingy and let him date someone."

Her back starting to get sore from being in the same place for so long caused her to reposition herself in the warm water of the tub.

"I admit it, if he would've asked me out with the sakura tree gift on my last birthday I would've said yes. I would've at least agreed to one date." The pinkette couldn't help but remember the look on his face when he handed her the gift.

"He's always been so nice and sweet to me. Always asking how I'm feeling or asking if he can do something for me. And now that he's grown up… honestly he's hot. I couldn't think of anyone else in the village who'd I even consider dating. Shikamaru, Choji, Lee, Shino and Kiba are just too much like brothers to me for me to consider dating them. But with Naruto, it's different. Yes we're really close, I'm closer with him than any other guy in the village, but with him it's different. I don't feel that same kind of brotherly or friendly love like with the others." The pink haired medic held her chin in her hands.

"I can't describe it… I've never felt this way towards anyone besides Naruto." Her mind froze at her words. She eyes shot open. Did she just say that?

"Is that it?" She asked herself in a quiet voice.

"Do I, do I have… feelings for him?" Pausing at her words she thought over her question. Yes she admitted that Naruto was very attractive but was that it? He was always nice and kind to her but is that everything there was?

"Do I like him?" She asked, her voice low and shaky. She thought about it in her head. It would explain her recent actions and feeling towards him over the past few weeks, like how she always got jealous whenever another girl asked him out or just a while ago when she climbed on is back to massage him. Was all of that jealousy because she liked him without realizing it?

The pinkette shook her head of her thoughts realizing that the water in the tub had started to go cold. She had been in here for longer than she meant to. How long had it been? No doubt Naruto would be starting to get concerned over how long she'd been in here. He probably thought something was wrong.

Standing up the pink haired medic ran through all of her thoughts in her head again before stopping on her question if she liked Naruto.

"I, I don't know. I mean, we're really close and he's always really sweet to me but I don't know if I like him like that. Maybe, I don't know. It couldn't be that bad though, dating him, I'm sure that if he liked me anymore that it might be actually kind of fun." She sighed as she dried herself off and tried to warm herself up from the cold air.

"Does he like me?" She asked herself, stopping in her tracks.

"I know that he used to have a major crush on me when we were kids but that's all it was right, a childhood crush?" Thinking about it as she changed into her underwear and her nightgown she stopped once again when she thought of something.

"But what if it wasn't just a childhood crush?" Thinking of the sakura tree that he got her she realized how many gifts he had gotten her over the years. Also all of the times he complimented her on how she looked, she couldn't help but blush a little.

"Were all of those gifts and compliments a subtle way of telling me that he liked me? They couldn't be, could they? Why did he stop telling me that he liked me? If he liked me then why did he stop asking me out?" Once again her mind jumped to that day in the Land of Iron.

"That's why, because you don't anymore. You can't still have those same feelings for me after what I did to you that day. I must've broken your heart. There's no way that you would still like me after that."

Once again the pinkette tried to shake her head clear of thoughts in order to think. She couldn't decide whether or not she believed that he still liked her or not. Yes he was nice, sweet, kind and would occasionally get her a gift or take her out for lunch after he got back from a mission but that was nothing out of the ordinary, right?

The Pink haired ninja's mind was overflowing with thoughts, her mind was a jumbled mess at the moment. The best course of action right now would be to stop thinking about it for awhile and let her mind calm down so that she could think rationally. This wasn't something to rush, she had to make sure she has one hundred percent certain either way before coming up with any ideas of what to do as the next step. If he did like her would she tell him how she felt? Would he even believe her? If he didn't like her would she tell him anyway to get it off her chest or just leave it alone? She had no idea.

XxxxxXxxxxX

(Naruto/Kurama POV. Note: _**Used for Kurama's text**_.)

Back to our blond haired young hero he has done everything in his power to not watch her through the shoji screen, he's tried reading a book, sorting his supplies and clothing for the mission, he tried playing a few board games with his clones and he is now currently trying to meditate on the bed to distract himself from looking at her shadowed form through the screen.

But try as he may the young hero couldn't bring his view away from his crush. Even through the shoji paper screen he could easily see her outline and shadow clear as day. He couldn't help himself, she was in the perfect position to spy on her body. She was turned to the side so with every motion he could see her bust through the screen. What surprised him was that she never even once looked over to see if he was watching her. Did she trust him that much? The young hero didn't know how to feel, he promised yet here he was watching her. He couldn't help it.

"Come on, just stand up once so I can see your whole figure, Sakura-chan. Come on, do it already." The blond hero was hoping for her to stand like she was now to the side so that he could see the outline of her butt.

As he was trying to turn away from watching her Kurama spoke up inside his mind.

" _ **I thought that you promised that you wouldn't watch her bathe? You do realize that you just lied to her, right?"**_

Naruto entered the prison in his seal and came face to face with the fox. He replied:

"I said that I wouldn't try to peek at her, I'm technically not peeking at her, I'm watching her shadow. Neither of us said anything about that." He saw the fox demon give an amused smile.

" _ **And they say that foxes are sly. Well just don't come crying to me when she catches you and lays your butt out on the floor. If you deserve it then I won't heal you. I've got better things to do then heal your sorry butt everytime she hits you."**_

The blond hero stepped closer to the open cage that Kurama slept in.

"You've got better things to do? Like what, sleep?"

" _ **You better believe it, kid. I'm the nine-tailed fox, I'm meant for more than your personal medic whenever you do something stupid and end up getting hurt."**_

The blond looked a little sad.

"But if you're not going to heal me then who is?"

" _ **Ask your girlfriend over there in the tub, she a medical ninja. She should be able to heal you up after she knocks you out just fine."**_

Naruto sighed and sat down on the mighty fox's enormous paw.

"Sakura's not my girlfriend, Kurama. She's just a friend. And besides, she's not going to hit me, she promised."

The demon let out a breath out of his nostrils.

" _ **Well not everyone keeps their promises, Naruto. Not everyone is as genuine as you. So don't expect her to actually keep that promise."**_

Naruto looked up the fox and grew a little upset at his words.

"What are you trying to say, Kurama? That Sakura's not going to keep her promise? That she lied to me?"

The large demon fox only nodded his head in reply.

The hero crossed his arms and turned his away from his friend.

"Why do you always have to be like that, Kurama? Why do you always say that she's lying to me?" The blond questioned.

" _ **Because all she's ever done is lie to you, kid."**_ The powerful demon replied.

" _ **You always run around trying to gain her affection and you always end up getting hurt, both physically and emotionally. All she ever does is hurt you, Naruto."**_ Naruto looked to his large friend and couldn't help but smile.

" _ **I, I just don't want to see you get hurt by her anymore, kid. Okay?"**_

Naruto let out a little laugh.

"Awe, Kurama. I knew that you liked me. But who knew that you had this softer side to you?" He joked.

The mighty chakra beast seemed to get a little flustered at Naruto's words.

" _ **It's not like that, kid. It's just… that we're connected. I feel everything you feel. I feel the same way you feel whenever you are around her. And I also feel the same way whenever she does something to hurt you."**_

" _ **Let's just put it this way, kid. I've known you for your entire life. I've been with you every day. Through every hardship through every heartache, I've been there. But I've also had to feel and share that pain as well. So believe me when I tell you that I know you better than anyone. You can't hide anything from me. I've always been here watching your life through your eyes."**_

The mighty demon lowered his huge head closer to Naruto.

" _ **Even though I never thought it true, you've considered me your closest and oldest friend. And I… have learned to feel the same. Besides the old man of the Sixth Paths I've never been this close to a human before. I truly consider you a close friend."**_

The hero of the Leaf let out an 'awe'.

" _ **And as your friend I strongly advise that you forget about pursuing this relationship with Sakura. It's only because I'm your friend that I'm saying this; I think that you should top trying to be with her, forget about her and move on to another girl. There are girls all over who like you, go and be with one of them. Surely one of them could make you happy."**_

The hero reeled back and punched the mighty beast. Though it was not even close enough to hurt. Naruto was just upset.

"Yeah one of them could make me happy, but they wouldn't be her. They wouldn't be Sakura-chan." He ended with a smile.

The fox demon couldn't help but sigh.

" _ **You'll never change, will you, kid? You'll never give up on anyone until your dying day."**_

The hero of the Leaf let out a smile and held out a fist which the demon returned with a fist bump.

"You better believe it, Kurama. Hell, I even managed to befriend you, a tailed beast. With enough work I'm sure that I can get Sakura-chan to know how I feel."

" _ **Speaking of her you better get your mind back to your body, because she's calling you."**_ Kurama smiled as Naruto's eyes widened as he focused to listen for her voice.

"Thanks for the talk, Kurama. I promise to talk to you soon, okay? So you don't feel lonely." He said with a smile.

" _ **I don't get lonely. I'm the nine-tailed fox! I am the most power-"**_ He was cut off when Naruto left the seal and his mind returned to his body, thinking:

' _Sure you don't, Kurama. You just go on telling yourself that.'_ Coming back to reality Naruto was greeted with an attractive girl in an almost see through nightgown with a set of revealing underwear beneath it. She was waving in front of his face, trying to get his attention.

Surprised by seeing his crush in such revealing clothes he jumped back on the bed in instinct. Flailing his arms around like a lunatic.

"S-Sakura-chan? Wha- what's going on?" He asked, his mind melting, all the while trying not to look down from her eyes.

The pinkette gave a concerned look and leaned in closer much to the young hero's dismay.

"Are you okay, Naruto? I was calling you for like five minutes. Did something happen?"

"No no, I'm fine, Sakura-chan." He said as he waived the air. He was still trying to keep his eyes glued to hers but her cleavage under her nightgown was making that very difficult. She always lectured him for dressing 'inappropriately' whenever he didn't wear a shirt or was in his boxers or something, so how can she wear something like that and act like everythings fine?

"You sure you're okay, Naruto?" The pink haired medic asked.

"Do you want me to check you out with my healing chakra?" She asked kindly, still a little worried about him.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it. I was talking to Kurama, I couldn't hear you, sorry." He gave a sheepish smile. Hopefully she wouldn't ask what they were talking about. But of course she did.

"Oh Kurama. How is he? Is everything okay? What we you guys talking about?" She asked as she sat on the bed next to him, about a foot away but it was still really close considering what she was wearing.

The hero tried to think, no way he'd tell her what they were talking about, that just wouldn't end well. Quickly he came up with an answer.

"Nothing really, we were just talking to pass the time. You were taking a while in the bath so I decided to talk to Kurama since I had nothing to do." He tried to give a casual smile and apparently it worked because she believed him.

She let out an apologetic smile when he said that. She rubbed the back of her head and replied.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to be that long. I was in there for almost an hour until I realized how long it'd been. I got distracted thinking about stuff I lost track of time."

"No it's fine, no harm done. I'm not in that big of a rush, we have a little bit before we need to turn in for the night. I'll just go take my shower now." The young hero stood up and began to walk to the bathroom before passing by the love seat which had a pillow and a blanket thrown on top of it.

It took a second but Sakura realized that Naruto had planned to sleep there for the night. She smiled at this. She is surprised that he had the sense to know that even though they were going to be playing a couple for this mission that they couldn't sleep in the same bed. Even if they had technically slept next to each other before on a mission.

The Pinkette thought of that time when they had slept in the same bed for the first time. It was when they were on a mission in the Land of Iron a few months back, she had gotten terribly sick and couldn't walk. Naruto carried her for days before stopping in a snowdrift to wait out a storm. He knew that he needed to keep her from freezing during the night so he sat her on his lap and held her against his body to share his body heat. When that wasn't enough he summoned a dozen shadow clones to surround her. He had each clone remove their shirt so that they would be able to share body heat better. Sakura remembered going in and out of consciousness during that, one moment she's being carried by Naruto, the next she's in his lap with his arms around her and the next she's surrounded by a dozen shirtless Naruto's. Let's just say that it startled her. The second time when they shared a bed was after Naruto's fight with Sasuke, he was out for days. Sakura stayed by his side in the hospital the entire time, only leaving to go to the bathroom and check in with Lady Tsunade. Besides that she never left his side. She spent most of her days sitting next to him on his hospital bed waiting for him to wake up. She never really thought anything by it but she ended up falling asleep next to him on his bed. She woke up snuggled up against him. She couldn't help but smile at those memories.

' _Wouldn't it be nice?'_ She thought to herself.

' _Wouldn't it be nice to be able to sleep like that with him again? In both those memories we laid next to the other for comfort, for protection. Because we felt that special bond that I can't explain.'_ She sighed to herself. With every passing thought she was coming closer and closer to deciding that she actually liked him.

The blond hero walked into the bathroom right as the pinkette stopped him.

"Oh yeah, Naruto, wait." She called, stopping him in his tracks, he turned to see her.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I uh, I might've accidently used up all of the hot water, I'm sorry." She said a little nervously, she felt like an idiot for taking so long and for using all of the hot water.

The young hero raised a questioning eyebrow before he seemed to get what she said.

"Oh don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. I don't like taking hot baths. I haven't taken a hot shower in years. I only use cold water." The pinkette gave a shocked look.

"You don't use hot water?" She questioned. He nodded in reply.

"Why do you take a shower with cold water? How can you stand that? I have to have hot water with my bath."

The blond shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, guess I just got used to it I guess. I haven't had hot water in my apartment for years. Guess I just grew up taking cold showers." He went to turn and walk away to take a bath but was stopped by the pinkette.

"Wait, you don't have hot water in your apartment?" She questioned. He gave her a nod of the head.

"Since when?" She continued. This made the blond think, how long had it been?

"A few years I guess. I think it went out when we were first taking the Chunin exams. It's been out since." The pink haired girl gave a shocked expression.

"And you've just been living without any hot water for all these years? Why didn't you tell Lord Third, or Lady Tsunade, or even Kakashi sensei? All three of them would've been happy to have someone come in and fix your hot water." The hero's face lowered a little and he shrugged.

"I didn't want to be a bother. They all had much more important things to do than have set someone up to fix my water."

"Naruto." She said stepping a little closer unconsciously. She was wondering why he didn't say anything.

"It's not like you would have inconvenienced them or anything. You know that, right? All you had to do was tell Lady Tsunade or Kakashi sensei and they would've just hired someone to come over and fix it. It would only take a few hours at the most."

She watched his face as it seemed to grow almost pained by something.

"I know how it works, I just didn't say anything as a kid because I didn't want anyone coming over to fix it." This confused Sakura, why didn't he want anyone to fix his hot water?

"Why's that, Naruto? You okay?" She asked, she could see his pained expression, it was a rare sight on his usual smiling face.

It took a few seconds but he finally answered.

"Because I saw how the villagers saw me, they thought I was a demon. And I didn't want one of them coming into my house. And besides, I was doubtful that anyone would've even agreed to go into my house." His eyes studied the floor as her eyes studied his face.

She stepped to him and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, I understand a little bit about them not wanting to go in your house but why are you so against them going in your house to begin with? I've been in your house plenty of times, so has Kakashi sensei." He gave her a weak smile.

"I let you guys in there because I trust you." She gave him a questioning look and he sighed, he didn't really want to talk about this story but he seemed like it was the only way to tell her why.

"When I was a kid before I entered the academy a group of about a half dozen of the villagers broke into my apartment in the middle of the night. I didn't know it then but they did, I had a demon inside me. They of course hated me and wanted me to leave. So they broke in and attempted to scare me out of the village." He slumped against the wall and Sakura started growing concerned, this was very unlike Naruto.

"I was only five years old. I was asleep in my room when they broke into my room. They were dressed in all black robes and wore these demon and monster masks. One of them… one of them swung a sword at me in an attempt to scare me." He paused for a few seconds and Sakura found herself rubbing his shoulder in comfort without realizing that she started.

"Needless to say he missed, he ended up slicing my chest open. I, I was so scared, Sakura-chan. I was still young, I had no idea why the village hated me. Well soon after realizing that he had actually hit me they all freaked out and left, probably worried that Kurama would've gotten pissed and attacked them."

"I remember lying in my bed for hours not being able to move I was so scared. It took almost two days before the pain was unbearable and I went to Lord Third who in return sent me to the hospital. The doctor told him that I should've died from that slice. I didn't realize it until later but the only reason I survived was because Kurama had been secretly healing me." He stopped talking and turned his gaze from her. He didn't like talking about or even thinking about those times when he was a kid.

The pinkette remained silent and motionless except for her hand which she kept rubbing his shoulder and back for comfort. She didn't know what to say. She knew that Naruto had a rough childhood growing up but she didn't even imagine that anything like that happened to him. Not knowing what to do she did the only thing she knew to do in a situation like this. She comforted him.

In a single motion she brought her other hand up and wrapped her arms around the blond hero, hugging him with all her might. She looked to him and could see tears forming in the back of his eyes. She couldn't stand the thought of her Naruto being in such pain without her.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, if I would've known then I wouldn't of kept asking. I'm sorry." She continued her embrace for a few seconds before she felt him return the hug. Unbeknownst to her he was being extra careful as to not hug her too tight. He was having a hard time controlling the feelings that he suppressed for so long.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan. It's not your fault, you couldn't have known. I'm fine now, thanks." The hero said softly after what felt like a few hours but was actually just a half a minute of silence between the two in each other's arms.

The blond went to pull away and we realised that the pinkette had no intention of letting him go. She didn't want to see Naruto like that, while he said that he was fine she knew him well enough to know that he was lying. He didn't want her to worry so he put on a brave face.

"Don't lie to me, Naruto. You can't hide anything from me. I know that you're not fine." She increased her grip on him and hugged him tighter, completely unaware that her body was pressed into his.

"Whether you like it or not you're going to stay here and hug me until I'm certain that you're okay. You always say that you're not hurting so that those around you don't worry." She began to get a little choked up herself.

"Don't you know that we care for you, Naruto? Lady Tsunade, Kakashi sensei, everyone from our academy class, me, we all care for you. Don't you know that it hurts us to see you hurt? You can't go around pretending that you're fine and smiling to the world when you're hurting."

She paused for a few seconds to catch her breath and to think of her next words.

"Naruto, promise me right now, and this promise means more to me than any other I've asked before, more than Sasuke, more than anything. That if you're ever hurting that you'll let me know. That you'll be honest with me, never lie to me about how you truly feel. You shouldn't have to go through anything alone. I'll always be here for you. Can you promise me that, Naruto? That you'll always tell me if you're hurting and to never lie to me about how you feel?" She asked as she finished by looking into his cerulean blue eyes.

For some time neither of them spoke before a small smile stretched across his face and he returned her hug again.

"I promise, Sakura-chan. I promise that I'll tell you if I'm hurting. I also promise to tell you how I really feel. I swear on my life. If this is more important to you than bringing Sasuke back then I'll be certain to always be honest with you." The two teens stood there in there room for a few more minutes before either of them even thought about letting go.

"Thanks Naruto." Sakura said as she loosened her grip before letting go and stepping back from him.

"Are you all better now?" She asked with a smile. She knew that answer.

"Of course." He replied.

"I had you there to comfort me, I've never had anyone there like that before, feels… nice." He said with a smile.

"Well if you ever need a hug then you know who to call, I'll always be here if you need me, Naruto. We all will."

She gestured to the bathtub and did a little shooing motion with her hand.

"Now go take your bath, it's late, we need to be getting to sleep."

The blond hero thanked her with his signature smile that, unbeknownst to him could melt her heart if he did it right, and walked into the bathroom and began to get ready for his cold bath.

XxxxxXxxxxX

***Author's Note***

Thanks for reading, please leave a Review, Follow and Favorite. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter.

Until next time, this has been Hephaestus.


	11. Ch11: Insecurities

Chapter 11: Insecurities

(Author's Note)

Thanks for reading, please leave a **Review** , **Follow** and **Favorite** , it really helps and shows me how you guys like this story.

The later part of this chapter goes out to DragonPony022, for his idea with a part of this chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, I tried to delve deeper into Sakura's mind and emotions for this one, exploring her thoughts, fears and insecurities about being with Naruto. Hopefully I did it justice. Let me know what you think.

Also, if anyone out there reading this happens to be under age I urge you to not read this chapter, the lemons don't start yet but some more sexual stuff is talked about and shown in this chapter. Sorry about only having Naruto and Sakura in this chapter, I planned to include the other couples but I went a bit further with NaruSaku than I planned. Don't worry, next chapter will include the other characters as well. Sorry about any typos, had to get this out quicker than I planned, sorry.

Please enjoy and without further ado here is the next chapter…

* * *

Note: ' _Used for written text.'_

Note: ' _~~~~~'_ Used for Illegible written text.

(Naruto's POV)

The blond hero was enjoying his cold bath as he thought of what he and Sakura had talked about. He didn't expect her to get so emotional when he told her that story, even though he had never told anyone that story before he wasn't expecting that response from her.

He held his hands to his chest, he could still feel her body heat on him. She had pressed her body so hard against his but in the moment neither of them had even noticed it or cared. Naruto smiled at the feeling of her in his arms. It wasn't the first time that they had hugged before, nor the second, as she's given him a brief hug after he gave her a gift or when she held him when he woke up in the hospital after the war and his battle with Sasuke. But this one was different, he couldn't put his finger on it. The emotion coming from her wasn't like before, it wasn't thankfulness, kindness or general happiness, it was something else, something that the young orphan had felt very few times in his life. It was comfort.

The young hero leaned back and soaked in the cold water, allowing it to further help soothe his muscles from his massaging session with Sakura.

"What was with her? Why was she acting all weird when she was massaging me?" He asked himself. He was referring to her unusual interest in what he had done with Ino. She seemed to be really interested in how and why Ino gave him massages. He couldn't think of why though, to him she was only giving him massages because it helped soothe his aching and sore muscles after training.

"I don't know, maybe it's nothing. She probably wasn't that concerned, it probably just seemed that way." The blond hero was about to ask himself why Sakura said that Ino wanted to sleep with him when he heard a scream coming from the main room, Sakura's scream.

(Sakura's POV, A few minutes before)

After Naruto went to take his bath Sakura sat on the overstuffed bed for a while going over everything Naruto had said to her. She still couldn't wrap her head around what he said, the things that he had lived through as a child still shocked her to this day. While he rarely talked about the things he went through in his childhood the pinkette knew of a few of the things that he had to endure as a child, and those things made her only care for him more. The things that he lived through, the hatred and ostracizing from the entire village, she couldn't even imagine having to live through that at such a young age by herself. She thought that the insults that she had received as a child was terrible, she couldn't even imagine how Naruto managed to get through that by himself and how he was so positive now. How could he live through a childhood like that and always be so happy?

The pinkette sighed to herself as she turned her head to the shoji screen in the bathroom which was covering the bathing hero.

"How is he able to smile like that when he's hurting like that inside? And how can he just lie like that when he's hurting? Doesn't he know that he can tell me anything? That I'll always be there for him?" The girl stopped, she realized what she just said.

"Great, if I keep talking like this then I'm going to end up admitting that I actually like him." She sighed as she got off of the bed.

"That wouldn't be a bad thing, would it? I mean, it's not like it's a bad thing if I liked him." She thought about it for a few seconds before she moved over to her luggage for the mission, she had already seen the underwear and nightgowns that were provided for her and while she wasn't exactly thrilled about wearing stuff like that in front of someone of the opposite gender she wasn't too worried about wearing it as she slept around Naruto. While he was a bit of a pervert as a kid she had to admit that she wasn't worried about him acting like that anymore.

She looked down to her nightgown and blinked, it was way more revealing than she first thought, when it was in the suitcase you couldn't really tell but when you wore it, it was almost see through. She could clearly see her underwear through it. Her mind froze, had she really been walking around looking like this the whole time? How did she not notice?

The pinkette turned to the full length mirror in the corner of the room and her question was answered for her, her underwear was clearly visible through the nightgown.

"Wha-, why didn't he say anything? If I was wearing something like this then why didn't he tell me that he could see my underwear? Did he not notice?" The pinkette asked herself. She replayed them talking in her head.

"Or did he just not care?" The pinkette asked after a few seconds silence.

"It was impossible that he didn't notice, we were so close, for so long. Maybe I was right, maybe he really doesn't like me." The pink haired girl thought about it as she continued looking through her prepacked clothes for the mission. Everything was tailored to her size but pretty much everything including the nightgowns were very revealing and suggestive. Going through the other bags she found several fancy and expensive looking gowns, dresses, skirts and a few pairs of matching shoes for each, along with a very expensive looking makeup case filled with perfumes and hair care products, whoever packed these suitcases took a lot of time, energy and money to make it appear as if she were a rich young lady with expensive tastes. She wondered who set them up, she looked back to the clothes and eyed a ball gown that caught her eye. While she thought that the ball gown was gorgeous, everything that had been packed for her was way outside of her comfort zone of something that she'd wear not only in public but in private as well. She worried about having Naruto see her in the clothes.

The pinkette pushed those thoughts away, her mind was still too fuzzy and her thoughts and emotions were too jumbled to think clearly about it. She continued looking through her luggage when she spotted something that she had missed before when she grabbed her underwear. Looking at it more closely she realized that it was a small wooden box with a note on it. Grabbing the box she finds her name written on the note and recognizes the handwriting on the front of the note instantly as her sensei's, Lady Tsunade. The girl put down the small wooden box and opened the note. She glanced at the handwriting and reconfirmed her that it was her mentor's chicken scratch handwriting. Sakura had always wondered how Lady Tsunade still managed to have such bad penmanship when she wrote and signed so many legal documents everyday. The medic shrugged and she began reading.

' _Sakura, I took the liberty of packing your bags for this mission myself, I wanted to make sure that you had everything that you would need. Remember that the mission comes first but take this time to have some fun and enjoy your time with Naruto.'_ The pink haired medic raised her brow at this. Was her sensei implying that she knew how she felt about Naruto? How could she, she wasn't even convinced herself yet on how she felt about him. How did Lady Tsunade know? Had she been that obvious about her feelings towards him? The pinkette continued reading.

' _I expect to see you two together when you return, you are my disciple after all, make me proud. But make sure to use these when the time comes, I can't afford to have you out of commission at the hospital for a few months. Signed, Tsunade.'_ Sakura was even more confused, what was she supposed to use, and what was it for? She glanced to the bottom of the note and found more writing.

' _P.S. Make sure to have fun kiddo, but don't make it too easy for him, make him work for it.'_ The pinkette sat back on the bed and reread through the note a few times.

' _Lady Tsunade, I don't understand, how were you able to tell my feelings for Naruto, I'm not even sure about them myself yet.'_ The pinkette put the note on the bed next to her and thought some more.

' _And what do you mean by expecting to see use together when we get back? Do you really think that this mission could do that for us?'_ She glanced at the note again and it made her think of another question.

' _And what did you mean at the end when you said that you couldn't afford to have me out of commission, what does that mean?'_ The pinkette couldn't think of anything and decided the best way to find out would be to simply open the small box she gave her and see what she was talking about. She rose from the bed as she stretched her arms to the ceiling, she was getting pretty tired, as soon as Naruto got out of the bath she was going to be going to bed. She hoped that Lady Tsunade didn't send anything too exciting, she was relaxing and getting ready for bed. She didn't need anything to keep her awake, she needed to get up early in the morning, she'd need all the sleep she could get.

"Probably just some kind of sunscreen or body lotion because of all the sun I'm going to be getting at the resort, I do burn rather easily." The girl said to herself as she noted her pale skin and reached for the small wooden box. Inspecting it more closely she could tell that it was a very old and worn ornate box, clearly Lady Tsunade didn't buy it, maybe it was her own personal box? The pinkette undid the small metal latch and opened the box, expecting a bottle of homemade sunscreen or lotion for the summer sun. She peered inside and saw nothing of note, just a small clear bottle with two intertwined hearts on it and a few sets of what at first glance she assumed to be glasses cleaning wipes or makeup remover wipes. There were about two dozen or so in total, nothing seemed special about them except that they were in bright square plastic wrappers. Sakura thought nothing of this, she was more curious as to why Lady Tsunade had sent her this.

"Why did she give me these makeup remover wipes? I don't even wear makeup." She asked herself aloud. An idea came to mind which offered up a decent explanation.

"Well I'm most likely going to have to wear makeup for the mission, so that's probably why she gave me these. She did send that entire makeup kit for me to use for the mission, got to keep up the appearance of a millionaire's daughter, I can't exactly walk around without any, I'd look out of place at a fancy resort like that." The pinkette remained standing by the dresser, her left hand holding the box and her right holding the note, she hadn't picked up any of the items yet.

"But what about this?" She asked as she tried focusing harder on the small bottle, trying to make out the faded out words on the side. She tossed the note on the dresser besides her and reached for the small bottle.

Examining it she noted that it looked fairly old, not as old as the box but definitely worn. The strange thing being that while the outside of the bottle showed obvious signs of general day to day wear and tear, the clear liquid contents of the bottle were almost full. It looked to her that it had only been used maybe one or two times. Examining the bottle further she saw the faded design of two intertwined hearts she had seen when she opened the box. The young woman had to squint to be able to make out the faded and worn text of the bottle. She couldn't make out most of it but she read it the best she could.

' _En~~y the pl~~~~~~~ of His and h~~~ Lubr~~~~~~~'_ The pinkette froze, the small bottle in her hand, it didn't matter that some of the words were illegible, when she saw the beginning of that last word she immediately knew the last seven letters. She practically threw the small bottle as if it had burned her, it landed safely on top of her clothes on the dresser.

The young woman's eyes shot wide open, her breathing stopped as she remembered the small box filled with brightly colored square wrappers. Slowly, as if it were a deadly animal, she lowered her now free hand into the box, her finger stopping an inch over one of the packets, her heart was thumping, her mind was reeling, her body was getting insanely hot, she felt as if she were going to pass out.

"Please don't let it be what I think it is." The whispered to herself as she held in her breath and looked away as she took all of her courage and grabbed one of the bright squares. All the while she refused to look upon the square in her hand, wishing with all her might that it wasn't what she thought it was. After a millennia of worrying she finally gave in and looked at the small orange square in her hand. It took approximately point three seconds for the pinkette to identify the square in her hand, and exactly another point zero five seconds for her to let out a loud, blood curtailing scream that could be heard across the world.

XxxxxXxxxxX

(Sakura's POV, current time)

In the time that it took to blink the pinkette felt a rush of air and saw nothing but a yellow streak dash towards her as she was lifted from the air and found herself being rolled across the floor while in a sturdy pinkette blinked again and she found herself on the other side of the room, her eyes staring deep into a pool of cerulean blue. It took a second for her mind to focus but she finally managed to come to her senses and look around the room. She looked to the man who held her in his arms, his sturdy, muscular body acting as a shield as he held her close to his chest. The girl noticed three other forms in the room, a cloak of fiery orange chakra enveloping them as they all stood in between them in different fighting stances. In their right hands were medium sized swirling balls of devastating chakra, while their left hands were poised, ready to fight.

The medic looked back to the face of the man who held her, his eyes lost their comforting blue hue, now replaced by bright orange orbs, his pupils now a thick horizontal line with a straight sliver running through the middle. The girl noted his trademark whisker-like scars on his face were darkened, striped. After another blink she found herself engulfed in his fiery orange chakra, it swirled around the two in a blaze, circling the two shinobi in an endless wave of almost boiling chakra.

"Naruto…? What…?" The girl managed to force out, her voice almost hoarse, her mind was reeling, she didn't know what was going on, one second she was standing on the other side of the room and now she's huddled into the far corner, wrapped in a sturdy hold, an enormous mass of fiery chakra engulfing her.

It took a second to register but she finally realized that Naruto had dashed out of the bathroom, grabbed her, rolled a few times and now held her tightly in his arms, pressing her into the corner of the room. It took another second before the pinkette was able to manage a thought.

' _Wha-...? Naruto? What's going on? He's holding me, he burst out of the bathtub and suddenly grabbed me.… Why.… why is he holding me?'_ The girl thought in her mind, her head still dizzy and spinning from the sudden jolt. Then, as sudden as a bolt of lightning came a mind-numbing thought, he just came out of the bath, he had to be….

The pinkette's face turned a shade of pinkish red as the thought hit her mind, she lowered her eyes from his fiery orange orbs and glanced down to his kneeling form. Slowly, almost methodically her eyes studied his chest as her gaze lowered. Pearls of water dripped down his muscular chest that seemed to mesmerize the girl. She bit her lower lip as she summoned her strength to lower her gaze even more, time seemed to stop as her eyes followed the dripping water stream down his muscular chest as it dropped and absorbed into the towel around his waist.

The medic blinked again, her mind focusing even more, he wasn't naked like she thought he'd be, he somehow managed to drape a small towel around his waist in the midst of rushing to her. The girl turned another shade darker as she realized that in his panting state that his member was moving up and down underneath the towel, her eyes widened as her mind jumped back to just a second earlier when she held the bright orange square, like a truck the thought hit her. Her grip tightened on the square in her hand, she didn't realize that she was still holding it. It was just a foot away from him.

The girl froze in her awkward position, he was so close, his massive almost naked body was surrounding her petite form, his right knee pinning her left to the wall, her right was up against his waist, her legs were spread wide and their crotches were a mere four inches apart. The pinkette's eyes became transfixed on the rise and fall of the towel, as the back of her mind tried to imaging it in it's entirety. Her mind blank she didn't realize that he was speaking to her.

"- you okay, Sakura-chan? What happened?" Her eyes jumped back to the fiery orbs a few inches from her face. He had a concerned look on his face.

"What's going on?" Asked the clone closest to them.

"Where is he, Sakura-chan?" Asked another as he remained tense in a fighting stance, ready to fend off against an invisible enemy.

The third and final clone closest to the dresser and the wooden box peered into her bags with a cautious eye, expecting a hidden trap or explosive.

"Is it an explosive? A hidden seal?" Questioned the clone. The original, which continued to hold her against his body turned his head with his back still to his clones.

"What is it, an explosive seal? A poisoned hidden blade? What?" The man holding her asked his clone.

The clone studied the bag cautiously, dispersing the mass of swirling chakra and placing a weary hand above the bag before giving the original a nod. The original returned it and held Sakura closer in his arms, preparing to shield her petite form in his arms from an explosion with his very back.

The clone reached into the bag and sifted through the contents cautiously. After what seemed like an eternity the clone raised a brow and turned to the original and shrugged.

"There's nothing here, boss. I can't find anything." The clone stated.

The real Naruto raised his own brow at this, he turned his gaze back to the pinkette and spoke.

"What happened, Sakura-chan? Why did you scream like that?" He asked, concern and worry in his voice. He released his clones and began to regain his usual form, the fiery chakra dispersing.

The pink haired medic managed a breath and her mind came back to her, she came out of her mesmerized state.

"Wha…? I… uh, I…." She managed to mumble out before she realized how close they were with a clear mind. She pushed his chest away from her and being the fact that he was balanced in a half kneeling half crouched position the sudden jolt sent him backwards. The blond hero fell back on his butt, a confused look growing across his face.

"Why did you do that, Sakura-chan? What are you doing? What's going on?" He asked, his cerulean orbs transfixed on her, full of concern and confusion.

"What am I doing?" She repeated back to the hero, her voice rising a little.

"What are you doing? Why did you suddenly tackle me from the side, roll me around on the floor and pin me against the wall?" She demanded.

The hero of the Leaf tilted his head and raised a brow.

"I thought that you were under attack or something, I was just-" He was cut off by the pinkette.

"Why would you think that I was under attack? We're at some random civilian inn miles from any shinobi, why would that thought even enter your head? Why would you think that?" She asked, the red on her face turning from blushing to anger.

The blond young man gave a sheepish smile.

"Well you screamed like you were in trouble, so I thought... that… I'm sorry." He decided to end with an apology, hopefully she'd understand and wouldn't get mad at him. He noted that her face was red, she was clearly mad already.

"You _baka_." She mumbled as she shook her head slowly.

"I'm fine, I was just startled by… something. That's all." She tried to smile and pretend like everything was fine but her blushing was starting to return to her face, she was having an extremely hard time not looking down to the towel around his waist.

The pinkette shook her head in an attempt to shake her perverted thoughts away. She manage to regain herself and pointed to the bathroom and gave him a look that she meant business.

"Go back in there and put some clothes on. I mean seriously, what do you think you're doing? You need to act more decently in the presence of mixed company, you can't just prance around naked in front of me like that." He raised a brow at this.

"I only had time to grab a towel, what was I supposed to do? I thought that you were under attack or something, was I supposed to wait and get dressed before I ran to help you?" The medic blinked, he had a fair point, but h didn't need to know that.

"Just go put some clothes on, seriously, how do you expect me to be able to concentrate with you naked in front of me?" As soon as the words left her mouth she tried to pull them back, but it was too late, she hadn't meant to say that last part.

"I mean, uh, that I'm having a hard time thinking because it's really awkward. Yeah, it's because you're too close." She hoped that he'd be his usual slow self and not figure out that she was lying. He didn't seem to react when she said that she was having a hard time concentrating, hopefully he didn't think anything of it.

The pinkette watched as the hero got off the floor and began to turn to the bathroom.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I didn't mean to make it uncomfortable, I was just worried, that's all. I was just worried that someone was… I was just trying to protect you, sorry." He finished his turn and walked back into the bathroom in silence. The girl's eyes widened and she raised an arm to reach out to him but stopped short.

' _Wait, you don't have to apologize. It's my fault.'_ She thought as he fled behind the shoji screen and she could make out the shadow of him removing his towel and getting dressed. She quickly turned her gaze from him, she needed to get a hold of herself, she was acting like a pervert herself.

The pink haired girl felt another blush coming on that she tried to push back but couldn't. This one was different from the others, she began to blush and she realized that she was blushing because of what he said,that he was trying to protect her. She couldn't help but smile, it was so like him to always rush to her side to protect her. That's one of the reasons why she liked him.

' _Why I like him? Who said that I like him?'_ She asked herself, trying to deny it further.

"He did look pretty heroic, though. I have to admit that it was nice having him try to protect me like that." She said to herself as she moved back to the dresser, the orange square still clenched in her fist. She sat on the bed and stared at the square in her hand.

"Why did Lady Tsunade give me these? What was she thinking? How did she even come to the idea that sending these on the mission would-." The pinkette froze, her eyes widening.

"Does she expect us to… does she want us to…?" The asked herself aloud. She shook her head, why would Lady Tsunade care if she and Naruto did that? Was she really so confident that they'd actually get close enough on this mission to use these? Another thought came to her mind when she was trying to think of an answer.

"Wait, why did milady have these anyway? She's not married, she doesn't even date. So why would she have these? And that bottle, it was obviously used at least once, I thought that she never…. So who did she use it with?" A few ideas came to mind, the most obvious being Lord Jiraiya, they had been teammates for decades. Sakura knew how he'd always ask her out all the time, but she was confident that Lady Tsunade said that they never-. The pinkette shook her head side to side, trying to remove the thoughts of her master in such a way. She sighed as she rose from the bed and headed to the dresser. She dropped the square wrapper in her hand back into it's box, closed the lid and tried as hard as she could to shove it as far down into her suitcase, as if she were trying to hide it so that she wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The pinkette was sitting on the bed fixing her pillows and moving her blankets around when she was distracted from her task at the sound of the sliding glass door to the bathroom open. She turned her head to see the hero of the Leaf walk out of the glass room in nothing but a pair of shorts with his shirt draped over his shoulder. He was yawning as he stretched, he moved without a word and sat on the loveseat a few feet from the bed and fluffed his pillow. When he noticed her looking at him he sent her one of his trademark Naruto smiles.

"What's up, Sakura-chan? You going to bed too? I'm getting tired myself, going to be hitting the sack any minute now." He let out another yawn and laid down on the small loveseat.

"Go ahead and turn the light off whenever you want, I'm going to be going to sleep." He attempted to roll over it failed. The pinkette tried to hold back a chuckle. She watched as the large man tried to get comfortable on the small sofa that was half his size. His head on a pillow was on the armrest while his knees were on the other. His bare lower legs were dangling in the air. While on his back the seat of the small sofa was only able to hold half the width of his chest and his arm. The other half of his muscular chest and other arm were hanging off the side, his right arm was lying partially on the floor. He attempted to roll over again but it was to no avail, it was far too small for him to sleep on. The pink haired medic realized that there was so much room on the large bed next to her and she came up with a thought which made her blush again.

"Hey Naruto, is uh, is that comfortable at all?" She asked, still not funny decided if she was for or against the idea of inviting him to sleep on the bed.

The blond hero turned his head towards her, trying his best to keep his eyes focused on her face.

"Not really, but it beats lying on the hardwood floor. I'll be fine, Sakura-chan." He gave a reassuring smile but the pinkette wasn't fully convinced. She saw him stretch and bend his neck a few times before she heard a loud popping sound. How was his neck still messed up, she had massaged it for so long?

"Is your neck still bothering you?" She asked him as she realized that she was in her revealing night gown so she laid back and covered herself with a blanket.

"Nah, it's fine. Just still a little tense that's all. Nothing a good night's rest can't fix. I'll be good, don't you worry." He replied with a smile that she didn't believe.

"Naruto, you promised me that you wouldn't lie to me, now tell me, is your neck still bothering you?" She asked, a little upset that he wasn't being truthful. She realized that in the grand scheme of things that it wasn't a big deal but she didn't like it when he lied to her in order to act like he was fine when he wasn't. It didn't matter what it was about, she worried for him when he acted like that.

He gave a sheepish grin, like a child who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He attempted to smile but the look on her face pushed it away.

"Sorry about that, Sakura-chan. To answer your question, yeah, it does still kinda hurt. Nothing like it did before but it feels a stiff. But I will be fine, I'm are that it'll feel better in the morning." He attempted to roll over to face her and managed to succeed this time.

"Not like that it won't. If you sleep like that then you'll mess it up even more." The pink haired medic said as she motioned to his head. His head was on top of his small pillow that was on top of the arm rest. It couldn't be comfortable.

He raised a brow and she let out a sigh, he won, she couldn't look at him like that, he was completely uncomfortable in order to make her comfortable, it was sweet.

"Come here, Naruto." She said as she lifted the blanket allowing him under the sheets. His initial reaction was confusion, but slowly the idea hit him, he realized what she meant.

"Are you sure, Sakura-chan? You don't have to, I'm fine sleeping here for tonight."

"Don't even try it, Naruto. I can't let you sleep on that tiny sofa, that'd just be cruel. Besides, if you sleep there then you'll only mess up your neck more. You need a comfortable place to sleep to help your neck heal. Now get over here before I change my mind." The hero lightly nodded his head as he rose from the tiny loveseat and walked towards the bed.

She watched as he cautiously sat on the bed and slid under the blanket. He laid on his side, his back to her with his legs and arms against his body so tightly in order to not accidentally touch her. The bed was plenty large enough for two comfortably, there shouldn't be a problem with them sharing the bed. As long as the stayed near their individual edges they shouldn't have to worry about touching each other in their sleep.

With every passing second the pinkette grew a darker shade of red. It was her idea for him to sleep next to her but she didn't know if she could handle it. A repeating thought in her head refused to leave.

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Yeah?" He asked, his back still facing her, stiff as a board.

"If you try anything while I'm sleeping I will kill you, I don't care if I said that I wouldn't hit you. If you try touching me I'll beat you silly and switch partners again to have Sai back." She warned, hopefully it was a big enough threat to keep him from trying anything.

"I would never, Sakura-chan. Do you really think that I'd do something like that?" He asked, sounding a little hurt to the pinkette.

The medic paused, did she really think that he'd try anything or was it just worry talking? She's slept by him before with no problems, way would this time be any different? A thought hit her as she rolled over to look at him. She saw his finely turned muscles, his muscular back rising and falling with every breath seemed to mesmerize her. She had seen him earlier in nothing more than a towel, little to nothing was left to her imagination now, she couldn't help but want to gravitate towards him in order to feel his body next to hers.

The pinkette slapped herself mentally for thinking that, the last thing she needs is to be that close to him right now, she didn't know if she could trust herself being that close to him.

"No I don't, I trust you, Naruto." She said, answering his question.

Not before long the two teens managed to fall asleep as the laid as far apart from each other as they could, their backs facing each other.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The pink haired medic awoke in the middle of the night suddenly, she opened her eyes and in the dark doesn't recognize that she's not at home. Not really thinking and wanting to go back to sleep she latched onto her large pillow and snuggled up against it. The pillow suddenly moved which freaked the girl out.

The girl became aware of her surroundings, she wasn't at home, she knew that for sure, she also knew that whatever she was cuddled up against wasn't her pillow. Her eyes adjusting to the darkness she could make out the image of her blond friend next to her. He had wrapped himself around her in his sleep, as if he were hugging her. The pinkette was about to wake him up in order to tell him to let her go when she realized that it was her that traveled across the length on the bed and snuggled up besides him. She was curled up into a ball in his arms.

She instantly tensed up, all she needed was for him to wake up and see her like this, he'd think that she did it on purpose. The girl laid in her warm embrace when a thought came into her mind that she had been trying to suppress and push aside all day.

' _Do I like him?'_ She asked herself. She's been trying not to think about it all day but couldn't get it out of her head.

' _I don't know, I have a feeling that I do it's just… just, that I'm worried about my feelings not being returned.'_ The pink haired medic admitted to herself. She was prepared to spend the entire night thinking this over when she felt the man next to her react to her movements in his sleep and wrapped his arms further around her. She couldn't help but blush and feel her heart rate increase. Her body was growing hotter the longer he held her and her brain felt like mush. The pinkette laid in his arms with a new thought.

' _Should I really be letting myself lay with him like this if he doesn't know? If our roles were reversed wouldn't I, if I were a guy get into a lot of trouble for doing this? So is it really okay if I act this way? I'm cuddling up next to him and he's none the wiser. I feel like a pervert.'_ That last thought came out of nowhere, she didn't expect to think it. But it was true, she was using this as an opportunity to get close to him without his permission. She was really acting like a perverted fangirl.

Not before long the pinkette fell back to sleep in the arms of the man whom her feelings towards were growing day by day. She couldn't help but smile as she fell asleep.

XxxxxXxxxxX

(Sakura POV)

The pinkette was in the middle of surgery, it was just a minor surgery, the patient had a sword wound and she was removing pieces of the shattered blade from his chest. Nothing that she hadn't done before, she could do this in her sleep. Her and her medical staff were making small talk as they worked, while Sakura made sure to focus on the task at hand she couldn't help feel that something wasn't right. Something felt out of place, uncomfortable, intrusive. She tried to think about it as she worked but the man started to bleed eternally so she put that thought on the back burner and focused on the task at hand.

She was able to stop the bleeding without much effort, everything was going really smoothly today, not a single ting had gone wrong. It was a perfect day, except for one thing, she had an uncomfortable feeling in her rear. For the life of her the medic couldn't figure out the cause of the discomfort, she hadn't eaten anything that upset her stomach so that wasn't it. Besides, the uncomfortable feeling wasn't like that at all, it was as if something was pressing into her butt. She couldn't come up with anything though, she knew for certain that nothing was in her underwear, so that couldn't be it, but she couldn't figure it out. It was hard to explain, it was as if some foreign object was trying to force it's way between her cheeks.

The pinkette suddenly snapped awake, not being able to tell why, she had been dreaming a strange dream and all of a sudden she was awake. It took but a second to realize that her body was extremely hot, she seemed to almost be on fire. She also realized that she had changed position in Naruto's arms, she now had her back to him as he held her. Their legs were a jumble of limbs, her back pressed against his hard chest and her butt pressed into his waist. She went to move to find that the hard object from her dream was actually pressing into her butt.

Still half asleep and not really thinking she frees her arm from his and reaches around to her butt to find the object that was pressing into her that woke her up. The strange object was pressing into her butt with so much force that it almost hurt. She felt around in the blanket between them until she felt an insane amount of heat coming from whatever was pressing against her, in one quick movement she grabbed the foreign item and attempted to throw it to the side off the bed but when she pulled on it it only trembled and pressed into her harder. It was at that moment when the pinkette realized what was going on: Naruto was pressing his erected penis in between her butt cheeks.

The pink haired girl instantly had to hold back a scream, did he know what he was doing? Was he just doing this in his sleep or was he awake and didn't realize that she was awake and knew what he was doing? She quickly pushed that thought away, sure that he would never do that to her. He must be asleep then.

' _Oh god!'_ She screamed to herself.

' _It hurts but damn, it feels so… good.'_ The harder the blond pressed his member into her the more she desired it even more.

The medic went to try to move from him but feeling the movement he grabbed her tighter and wouldn't let go. She tried again to get his enlarged member from in between her butt cheeks when she was instantly drawn to a quiet sound, listening she realized that he was mumbling in his sleep.

"Stop… that… Sakura-chan… I told you that I… don't want to do… that… with you. Let...go of me, that… hurts. Let me be… with… Hinata." The pinkette's mind quickly froze, as did her attempt to pull away from him. Her mind came to the decision that she feared the most in an instant: that he didn't really like her.

After a few seconds of not thinking of anything she slowly pulled herself from him and moved back to her side of the bed before she got up and laid on the small loveseat a few feet away, not wanting to be next to him at the moment. She couldn't even look at him after hearing that, her fears and worries turned out to be true. Her heart seemed to shatter inside her body.

The girl couldn't help but listen as he continued talking about wanting to be with Hinata, or Ino or another girl instead of her. As she heard him squirm and move in his sleep it was obvious to her what he was dreaming about, sleeping with other girls besides her.

What remained of her heart felt like it was sinking, just as she was beginning to admit to herself that she liked him she was given a rude reminder why she hadn't pursued a relationship since her days as a girl chasing after Sasuke. She knew it in her heart but it was hard to admit again, that no man would ever love her. The first man she ever loved rejected her completely for years and even went as far as trying to kill her. While the second man always fought for her affection and she never gave him the time of day. He was always there for her and she grew to love him for that, but now she was once again reminded that all her feelings meant nothing if the men whom she loved never felt the same way towards her.

Tears attempting to drown her green orbs as she curled into an uncomfortable ball on the tiny sofa and cried into her hands. She was trying to suppress her loud sobs but it was of little use, she was a shaking mess of tears and sobs. And not for the first time in her life she fell asleep as tears rolled down her face.

XxxxxXxxxxX

(Sakura/Naruto POV)

The young hero woke up and instinctively sat straight up and stretched. His mind realizing where he was he began to worry that he would accidently wake up Sakura. At the thought of her name his member made it's presence known and the blond grew a little worried, hopefully she didn't see him like this, she'd get the wrong idea. He looked to her side of the bed and blinked a few times, she was already gone. Was she already up and getting ready? He looked around the room but couldn't see her anywhere. He got up out of bed and found her lying on the loveseat that she told him not to sleep on last night. The hero raised his brow at this, what was she doing? She's the one who made a big deal about getting a good night's rest on a comfortable bed, that tiny sofa couldn't of been comfortable to sleep on all night.

The blond spied the clock on the wall, it was about time to get up and start getting ready. He walked the few steps to her lying body and called out to her to wake her up.

"Sakura-chan, hey. It's time to get up, we need to get ready. Sakura-chan." When she didn't respond her bent over and reached an arm to shake her awake when she startled him half to death.

When his hand was a mere inch from her arm she spoke.

"Don't touch me, Naruto. I'm awake."

The blond hero couldn't help but feel that something was wrong, she sounded so, devoid of emotion, very monotone. Very unlike the Sakura he knew. He watched as she slowly rose from the sofa and stood with her back to him. He could see her arms trembling, was she cold? They were almost near the equator, could she really be cold?

Naruto reached out once again to her and this attempt was met with the same warning:

"I said don't touch me." She warned.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The pinkette woke up earlier that morning, her cheeks stained with her tears. She laid curled up on the sofa for a little over an hour thinking about what happened the night before. She was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around it, what was she supposed to do?

The medic laid as she thought of Naruto's words in his sleep, could she really trust the words e spoke in his sleep? He was dreaming, so it might not be how he truly feels. Her rational brain tried to make a dozen cases in favor of taking a deep breath and calming down before dropping it, but from the darkest, deepest part of her brain where her guilt, insecurities, doubt and worry lay came a single paralyzing thought that seemed to overpower her senses and threw her mind into a panic. Worry came into her mind with this thought. She was worried that her fears were correct, he didn't like her. He loved someone else.

' _That can't be it, of course he likes me, he wouldn't act that way towards me if he didn't.'_ Her rational mind thought before her worry and doubt cut in.

' _He acts that way towards every girl, you're nothing special. Every girl from the Academy has at least one boy who likes them, except for you of course.'_ Her fear spit at her.

' _But what about all the times as kids when he said that he liked me?'_ She asked herself, a wave of doubt and insecurity washed through her instantly to stomp out her hope.

' _Those were just the words of a child! He never really liked you. He only said those things to compete with Sasuke.'_ Sakura couldn't think, every time she thought of a way to rationalize what happened a voice from the back of her mind destroyed that hope that she held so precious i her hands. Her own mind attempting to prove her wrong and destroy her from the inside.

The pinkette thought of her friend, Hinata.

' _She's loved him since we were kids, so obviously he would love her as well. She's so lucky."_ She thought.

' _Not only is she beautiful, kind and loving but she comes from a prestigious family as well. It's clear who Naruto would pick to be his wife. He was going to be the Hokage, he'd need a wife that not only looked the part of the Hokage's wife but who could also use her family ties to his advantage.'_ The girl laid for a while more until she sensed a figure moving behind her, when it spoke she recognized his voice instantly. He was the last person who she wanted to see right now.

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(Author's Note)

Thanks for reading, please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I gotta be getting some sleep so I'm going to be stopping here, thanks for the support and I'll see you guys next week with another chapter update.

Hephaestus


	12. Ch12: ShikaTem Fluff

Chapter 12: Shika/Tem Fluff

***Author's Note***

Hey guys, sorry for the shorter chapter this week. Work was crazy again this week and my schedule was all mixed up. I had to write this almost all in one sitting this week, I only had five hundred words done before Friday. I was slacking, I know. I'm going to be working on it, I promise.

Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and show some support and **Review** , **Follow** and **Favorite** , it really helps and motivates me to write more. Thanks.

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Chapter 12: Shika/Tem Fluff

(Shikamaru/Temari POV)

"Hey Shika, this is getting ridiculous, it's been almost half an hour, aren't we gonna talk about this?" Questioned the blonde young woman.

Temari was sitting with her legs bent to one side on the oversized bed as she watched Shikamaru go about his business as he was getting ready for bed after his quick bath. It seemed to her that he was doing everything in his power to act like she wasn't even there. He hadn't even looked at her once since the incident in the tub, and while she generally didn't like guys looking at her in such a way she wished that he'd just look at her, it didn't matter to her if it was that way or not at this point. She was starting to get angry at the black haired genius, they were so close not so long ago, and now he's acting like she's not even there.

"Hey, earth to Shika. You even listening to me?" She asked as she raised a pillow in her hand and aimed it at the back of his unsuspecting head.

"If you don't answer me then I'm going to throw a kunai at you." She threatened as she held a pillow instead. There were two reasons why she held a pillow instead of a kunai, the first being that as this was a covert infiltration/undercover mission deep into a non-ninja part of the world, so they were not allowed to pack any weapons or any ninja gear for that matter. Temari was gravely upset that she was forced to leave her large fan in the Leaf village, she usually carried it everywhere she went, she felt naked without it. The second reason why she was going to throw a pillow at him instead of a deadly weapon was because she didn't want to actually hurt him, much.

The blonde steadied her aim and aimed the 'killing shot' at the back of his head. After all of her years of ninja training to become the best kunoichi in the Sand there was no way that she could miss. Her aim was impeccable, she prided herself on her near perfect marksmanship capabilities. After a quick second to steady her breath she focused her inner sniper and reeled back to launch her attack from behind.

The small circular pillow flew from her hand like a cannon, it sliced through the air like an arrow, piercing through it like a knife. The distance between the two was only six feet or so but the unconventional weapon seemed to slow as it flow and seemed to almost stop entirely. Temari watched as it flew, confident that her aim was perfect and that this would show him that he couldn't ignore her.

With the pillow an inch away from it's target the blonde let a smile roll across her face, she just couldn't wait to see his reaction. But just as the pillow was about to reach it's target said target suddenly ducked from the incoming projectile.

The pillow that she had thrown with such unrivaled, such intense force hit the wall and simply bounced off and landed safely on the ground by his feet.

"Huh? What the heck? A pillow?" Questioned the genius. He dropped out of instinct when he felt something coming towards him, he had been distracted, it was really close. He tilted his head and stared at the small pillow in confusion. Turning around to Temari he was confused.

"Did you throw a pillow at me? Why?" He asked nonchalantly, he was more curious than his voice showed. Why did she just throw a pillow at him like that? He had no idea.

Shikamaru studied her face questioningly, she appeared to be confused, even shocked, however he couldn't figure out why. Her face slowly turned back to normal before quickly turning o what looked like an angry expression.

"How did you dodge that? I threw it as hard as I could, there's no way that you could've dodged that." She asked in disbelief.

Shikamaru was puzzled, why was she asking that? Wasn't it more important to say why she threw it at him to begin with? He shrugged his shoulders a little and turned his gaze back to his suitcase.

"I don't know. Guess it was just instinct. I almost didn't have time to react though, it was a close one. But why did you throw a pillow at me, Tem? That's what I'm wondering."

"Because you were ignoring me, that's why." She said simply as she crossed her arms over her chest. Shikamaru didn't see this though because he had his back to her again.

"And you're doing it again, why aren't you paying attention?" She questioned.

He stopped rummaging through his clothes, seemingly finding what he was looking for. He held up one of his black undershirts and threw it to Temari on the bed.

"I'm not ignoring you, Tem, I'm listening. Here, put this on." He said as he threw it over his shoulder to her. She caught it without much trouble and looked at it questionably, why did he suddenly throw one of his shirts at her?

"Uh what is this? Why'd you give me one of your shirts?" Questioned the Sand shinobi. She flipped it around in her hands to see if there was anything special about it, finding nothing she gave a confused look.

The genius of the Leaf let out a sigh and replied;

"Because I can't concentrate on what you're saying when you're wearing something like that. It's too distracting."

The blonde suddenly blushed and looked down to her see-through nightgown, is that why he hadn't been looking at her? He was having a hard time looking away from her?

"You mean that's why you haven't looked at me in half an hour? Because you could see my underwear? Is that it? Really, Shika, I can't believe you sometimes. You literally just saw me naked in the bath but you can't handle seeing me in my underwear? How does that make anysense?" She asked, still holding his shirt without realizing it.

He let out another sigh.

"You make it sound like it's not a big deal with what you're wearing, or lack thereof. But it's harder than you might think, I'm having a hard time thinking over here because of it." He said casually.

She turned a little more crimson with his response, she hadn't expected that. Was it really such a big deal to him?

"Well get your head out of the gutter because I wanna talk to you about something, and I need you to actually look at me for it." She said with a joking tone, her skin color returning to normal.

"Then put that shirt on and I might actually be able to, Tem." He joked back, his head still facing the other way. Did she really think that this wasn't a big dea? She was risking giving him a heart attack over here, her clothing was way too revealing, it was see-through.

She looked down to the shirt in her hands. Did he really want her to wear _his_ shirt?

"If I wear this then will you stop ignoring me and have a normal conversation like a civilized person? Because I've been trying to talk to you but you kept ignoring me?"

"I was? I didn't realize that you were talking to me, sorry."

"Yeah, you were. You were off in your own little world, that's why I threw that pillow at you." She replied.

"Oh, that makes sense." He said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Will you put that shirt on already so I can turn around and look at you? I'm getting bored staring at this wall." He said straightfaced.

"But what if I don't? I'm comfortable in this, I'll get too hot with it on." The questioned. She was wondering how far she could push her luck before he just gave up and looked at her.

"That's simple, we can just talk about whatever you wanted to talk about while i'm looking the other way. If you want me to look at you then put some more clothes on, please." He let out another sigh, wondering how long she was going to keep this up. She was the one that wanted to talk, you'd figure that she'd stop messing around and get to it.

"Fine, I'll put it on. Jeez, it's not like it's a big deal or anything." She mumbled as she slipped the large shirt over her head. It went past her waist a little bit as it was too large for her, maybe now he'll actually look again.

"Thanks, see, was that that hard?" He asked jokingly as he turned around to face her, sitting on the small couch. He looked at her face, expecting a smile but saw a look of worry instead.

"Tem? What's wrong?" He asked, concerned. His smile and joking manner gone.

She took a few seconds to answer, she seemed to struggle to get the words out.

"What, what are we, Shika?" The blonde asked as she gazed down to the bed next to her.

He raised a brow at this, what did she mean?

"What do you mean, what are we?" He asked.

"I mean, we both said that we liked each other, right?" Her tone was mixed to him, he couldn't quite place it.

"Yeah, of course. Is that… is that a problem, Tem?"

She waved her hands in front of her like she was waving what he said away.

"Of course not, I was just making sure that we both felt the same way, that's all." Her voice lowered as she spoke.

"Tem-." He was cut off before he got a second word out.

"It's just that I was wondering what we were now. I like you, you said that you like me too… I was just wondering if we were, dating or something now." The blonde said softly as she gripped the blanket on the bed firmly.

He blinked and thought for half a second before replying.

"Of course, Tem. If you want to be dating then we're dating, you don't have to worry that I would say something like that and not actually be willing to go along with it and date you. I'm not that kind of guy." He paused and watched her slowly lift her head up.

"And I didn't think that it was a question if we were or not, I actually just assumed that we were." He smiled sheepishly.

Her head raised to look at his, he saw that she was fighting off tears. Something that he never expected to see, she was always so tough and unemotional, it felt a little weird seeing her like this.

"Good, I… I was worried that you had, second thoughts… since you were quiet. I was worried that you didn't… actually like me." Temari confessed as she fought some tears away. She had to sniffle and rub tears from her eyes, she figured that she looked pathetic and terrible but she didn't care.

Shikamaru stood up instantly and made his way to the bed quickly. He sat next to her and did something that neither of them expected, he pulled her to him and held her tightly in his arms, hugging her.

The blonde Sand shinobi was startled by this but didn't fight it. She let him comfort her. It felt so nice.

"Is that what you were worried about? That I would say that I liked you and then not follow through with it? Do you really think that I could do that to you? You've known me for years, Tem, do you really think that I would do that to you?" He asked softly into her hair.

"I'm sorry for making you worry, I was just distracted, thinking to myself, that's all. I didn't mean to make you question whether or not I actually had feelings for you or not."

He couldn't see her face but he knew that she was crying, he felt her shaking a little in his arms. Feeling her hurt like that hurt him as well, he was surprised, it hurt to see her hurt.

"Why?" She managed to ask.

"Why do you like me?"

Without hesitation he spoke, normally he would take his time to think out his response, making sure that he knew what to say. But he could tell that she needed to hear his answer quickly.

"Because I think that you're amazing. You're smart, incredibly strong and beautiful, so much so that i have a hard time concentrating while I'm looking at you." The genius of the Leaf was surprised by his own words, the words came so easily, normally for something like this he'd be tripping over his words and be a mess, he had never been able to even think so clearly about her like this before.

The blonde pulled slightly back from him, just enough to look him in the eye.

"Really? You really think I'm beautiful? I've never had anyone say that I was beautiful before." Her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Of course I do, I wouldn't lie, now would I?" He smiled to reassure her.

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, I told you that already." Her cheeks turned a shade more red.

"Prove it." She said suddenly.

He blinked, slightly taken aback.

"Prove what?" he questioned.

"That you like me, that you think I'm beautiful. Prove to me that they're not just words." She said as she still had her arms wrapped around the back of his neck.

"How?" He asked, raising a brow.

"Kiss me." She said simply.

"But I already did, a few times. Doesn't that-" She cut him off.

"Kiss me again, prove to me that you really mean what you're saying. If you really mean it then kiss me." He sat staring into her eyes for a few moments without moving, she was starting to worry when the genius softly placed his hand on her chin and slightly raised it. He leaned in and in a second she found his taste on her lips again.

This kiss, it feels so different than the ones before, it feels so loving. Her eyes shot open briefly before half closing as he continued his somehow soft attack on her lips. His movements were so slow, so methodical, so intentional that they seemed to hypnotize her. The passion behind his kisses were so obvious to her, in that moment all her doubt and worry that he didn't like her was washed away by his taste. She knew that he really did love her.

He pulled away briefly to breath and she felt herself panting, her body was becoming so warm again. His lips were gone for but a second but she longed for them so much. Shikamaru quickly returned his lips back to hers and continued his slow, methodical attack on hers.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the pair, his hands were making their way from her back to her hips. His hands began to slowly move themselves up and down, back and forth, rubbing her bare skin his hands moved under her shirt.

He continued his kissing for god knows how long, her mind stopped thinking the second his lips met hers again. He suddenly slowed his kissing again and pulled away to look her in the eye.

"Was that enough convincing, Tem?" He asked with a sly smile.

Her eyes half open and his saliva rolling down her chin she could barely register his question, she was so in the moment that her mind seemed to leave her.

"I don't know, I'm not so convinced… maybe you should kiss me again, so I can make sure." The blonde replied with a seductive smile.

Shikamaru let out a small chuckle and smiled to her.

"Oh, aren't you now? Well I doubt that, it seemed to me that you were pretty well convinced."

"Oh really?" She asked, leaning in a little closer to him, not that she wasn't already extremely close to him to begin with.

"Am I that easy to read?"

His smile turned into a smirk.

"When you make the noises that you were making, yeah, you're pretty easy to read."

She raised her eyebrow.

"What noises? I don't make any noises."

"These noises." He replied as he returned his lips to her and kissed her neck briefly, she instantly let out a moan that she didn't realize that she had been making until now. He pulled back again and

"See? Those noises, you can't say that you don't believe me when you're making ones like those."

She puffed out her cheeks a little and pretended to pout.

"Well it's not my fault, my body makes those noises itself, I have no control over them."

"Well you better be convinced now, there's no way to hide it." He smiled to her.

"Fine. I admit it, you convinced me. But that doesn't mean that we have to stop, Shika. We can keep going." she began to move in again to kiss him when he stopped her.

"You remember that conversation we had not even an hour ago about taking our time? Well it still applies, Tem." He sat back on the bed in front of her and let her go.

"Now don't get me wrong, I'm fine with kissing you and such, more than fine actually, but anything more I think that we should wait."

"Why's that?" She asked.

"Because when you start making those sounds… I, I uh…" He paused, his face growing a little red from embarrassment.

"You what, Shiiikaaa?" She asked, playing with the vowels in his name.

"I uh, have a hard time controlling myself." He mumbled really low and quiet.

"What was that?" She questioned as if she couldn't hear him while she had very well understood what he said.

"I said that when you start doing that I have a hard time controlling myself, that's why I think we should stop there. I don't want to get to carried away."

The blonde let out a sigh like the ones that the man in front of her always makes. She again wasn't thrilled to hear that he wanted to stop before going any further but she was willing to wait if it made him uncomfortable and nervous.

"Anything for my boyfriend." She said with a smile, trying out her new title for him. Trying to snuggle up to him again.

His eyes widened and a smile rolled across his face.

"Don't try to trick me by doing something cute like that, Tem, I know what you're doing." He said playfully with a smile.

"Awe, you're no fun, Shika." She said with a pout and stuck out her lower lip a bit in an attempt to look cute. He let a small smile form on his face from her attempt. He sighed and glanced at the clock hanging on the far wall behind them.

"You're not the first one to say that, believe me. Now come on, it's getting late, we should be getting to sleep." He said as he rose from the bed and started making his way back to the small sofa a few feet away from the bed.

He sat and she gave him a questioning look, tilting her head slightly to the side and giving him a funny look.

"What do you think you're doing, Shika?" The blonde asked.

He looked up with a confused look of his own and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean? I'm getting ready for bed. It's getting late, we need to get up early in the morning so we can make it the rest of the way to the docs where the ship is going to pick us up to take us to the resort." He replied simply.

The blonde let out a sigh and answered.

"Yeah I know that, Shika, I was paying attention when you went over the mission on the way here. I was talking about why you're on the couch like you're going to sleep there."

"Because I was going to sleep here?" He asked in more of a question than an answer.

"Like hell you are, you're sleeping on the bed with me." The blonde said boldly.

"Huh? Why?" The genius asked.

"What do you mean why? Because I want you to, that's why. You're the one who didn't let me kiss you again, the least you could do is make it up to me and sleep next to me."

"Tem, I just don't think that that's the best idea. We don't know what could happen." He was trying to be reasonable but he knew that it wouldn't help.

"You're my boyfriend, right?" She suddenly asked.

"Yeah." He replied.

"And as my boyfriend you want to make me happy, right?" The way she said it it was clear to the genius that it wasn't a question.

"Of course I do." He answered. The blonde smiled.

"Then make me happy and get your ass over here and let me sleep next to you." She said in the nicest, most innocent voice she had. The Nara heir let out a sigh in defeat, he knew that there was no point in arguing it, she'd win and get her way.

"Fine, Tem. But you stay on your side, okay? We need to be getting our sleep. We have to get up early. Got it?" He asked in his best no nonsense, leader voice which almost made her laugh out loud. She nodded her head in reply.

"Of course, Shika, I know. I'll stay on my side, I promise." She said with a smile that wasn't convincing enough.

The genius of the Leaf removed his pillow and blankets from the small couch and made his way back to the oversized bed and laid down, lying on his side, facing away from her he reached over and turned of the bedside light next to him and settled himself under the covers.

Not thirty seconds later he felt a familiar form move over and press themselves into his back. He let out a soft sigh. Temari had immediately moved across the bed and snuggled up against him and wrapped her arm around him. What did he literally just finish talking to her about?

"Tem, what are you doing? I thought that we agreed that you were going to sleep on your side of the bed."

"I know, but it's not my fault, I have no choice." She replied.

"What are you talking about?" The genius asked.

"I was cold, so I had no choice." She snuggled up even closer and curled up like a cat next to him.

"It's you're fault, you're so warm." She finished answering.

"Tem, it's eighty degrees in here, you can't possibly be cold." He said.

"Well I'm not cold now because you're so warm, but I was all the way over there on the other of the bed." She ended with a yawn.

"Yeah but-" He was cut of when a soft hand covered his mouth.

"How about you be quiet and enjoy the fact that you're lying next to your girlfriend who's wearing nothing but underwear, a see through nightgown and your shirt? You think about just enjoying it?" She asked with a playful tone.

"Fine." He surrendered while her hand was in front of his mouth. Hearing his agree to stop talking and just go to sleep she removed her hand from his mouth and placed it on his chest as she half snuggled half hugged him from behind.

"That's the spirit. And who knows, if you're good tomorrow we could do this again tomorrow night." She ended with another yawn and he couldn't help but yawn in response.

' _This is certainly going to be interesting, I gotta make sure that I don't do anything stupid and mess this up.'_ He thought to himself as he let himself fall asleep.

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***Author's Note***

Thanks for reading, please let me know what you thought of this shorter chapter with a **Review**.

Thanks, and until next time this has been Hephaestus.


	13. Ch13: Doubts and Dreams

Chapter 13: Doubts and Dreams

***Author's Note***

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading, I put a lot of last minute detail and thought into this so please tell me what you think about it with a **Review**.

On a side note here, if you are a fan of Science Fiction and like keeping up with original stories as they come out then you should check out a friend of mines original story: Sci Fighters. She goes by the name of Nerdiest999 and her story while only just starting is pretty interesting. While she does not have any stories on FF she was her story on Wattpad. Nerdiest999 is the sole reason why I am still writing to this day, if it weren't for her I would've quit a long time ago. You all owe her some thanks as she deserves it. So please, check out her story over on Wattpad and tell her that I sent you. Thanks.

I received some mixed views on sai's sudden confession to Ino a few chapters ago, I agree that it was rushed and out of left field, I attempted to correct some of it in this chapter. So if not everything fits with what happened in their last chapter then consider it officially changed with this chapter.

Concerning Ino in this chapter I just want to say that this may seem OOC for her and different for what I had going on to some but this is actually closer to what I intended for her to be in this story. Please be aware that some of the things such as missions I talk about were not in the show or manga, as this story takes place after they end. This story is set over a year after the end of the war. So Ino may, and will seem different to most, I tried my hardest to explain why she is basically obsessed with being with Naruto in this story. I found it kind of difficult to write as it was different than normal but I think that I did an okay job at it. Please let me know if you agree or disagree.

Please be aware that this chapter contains mature subjects and situations, I normally don't add warnings to my chapters as this story is rated M for a reason but I felt that I should at least put this on here. While it is brief the adult content is there, you have been warned.

In response to a guest review that I received on the 2nd:

The guest asked: "Is this ignoring the fact Sai told Sakura ages ago Naruto loved her?" In reference to chapter two. I do not ignore Sai telling Sakura that Naruto loves her, in fact it comes up later a few times in later chapters. Thanks for the Review and question.

Sorry for all the Author's Notes, I'm trying to use them again, feel like I went a little overboard. Anyway, without further delay please enjoy the chapter and leave a Review when you're done, thanks, Hephaestus.

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Chapter 13: Doubts and Dreams

(Ino POV)

"Sai, what are you doing?" A confused blonde asked as she sat in bed watching a pale, scrawny man sitting cross legged on the floor in the corner of the room.

"Hmm? I am thinking." He replied simply.

"Okay, well I'm going to bed so I'm going to be turning off the light, you should go to sleep too." She told him, reaching for the bedside lamp.

"It is alright, you can turn it off. I am going to sit here and think for awhile." He said ever monotone. He hadn't said anything since he told her that he liked her. She took her shower right after him, using that time to clear her head, which was a jumbled mess. After their respective showers they had both gotten ready for bed without a word. Ino was currently sitting on the bed ready to go to sleep while he was sitting on the floor, apparently thinking.

"You're going to sit in the dark?" She questioned, that seemed weird, even for Sai.

"Of course. You are going to be turning the light off, correct?" He asked. She gave 'yeah' with a slight nod. He continued.

"It does not matter to me whether the light is on or not, so please, go ahead, turn off the light if you want to." He said gesturing to the lamp besides her.

"Okaaay then… I'll turn it off. Goodnight, Sai." The blonde said as she turned off the only light in the room. She quickly got under the covers and rolled around until she found a comfortable spot and tried to go to sleep.

Ino laid in the bed for a few minutes motionless, with every intention of falling asleep, however her mind had other things it wanted to do. It wanted to think about what Sai had told her not even an hour ago. While all she wanted to do was sleep, her mind wouldn't let go of that topic, it wanted to know something.

"Sai? You want to talk about it?" She asked before she knew what she was saying.

She rolled over to look at him sitting on the floor, he hadn't opened his eyes, he seemed to be concentrating on meditating or thinking or whatever he was doing until he spoke.

"Talk about what, Ino? You have to be more specific, I do not know what you are referring to." The pale ninja said, monotone as always.

The blonde let out a groan, was he serious? Did he really not know what she was referring to? Why do you have to always be so precise when talking to this guy? It really gets old fast.

"I'm _referring_ to what you told me earlier, about how you liked me…" She let it hang, hoping that he would elaborate or even repeat himself so that she could hear it again so that she could figure out what he was talking about.

"Oh, that." Sai said, his eyes still closed and his tone stoic.

"Yeah, _that_." She repeated her almost rude tone, getting a little irritated that he was so clueless and that he seemed not even fazed about any of this.

"So… do you want to talk about it, Sai?" She asked again, a little hopeful that he'd at least explain what he said to her, it's not something that you hear everyday. That someone loves you, even for someone like her, she wasn't used to someone just saying it like that. Every experience she's had with guys telling her that they like her were all very different than what Sai did. Every other guy just walked up, said some rehearsed, cheesy line about how beautiful she was, handed her some expensive gift like jewelry, tried to get close to her and asked her out. No one ever just came out and said that they loved her, this was completely different than everything she was used to. It was throwing her off, she didn't know what to do.

Ino has had many guys 'confess' their love to her over the years, it was inevitable, she thought, she considered herself the most beautiful and most popular girl in the village, guys lined the streets to date her after she would break up with someone. Barely a week would go by after she dumped some guy and she'd be dating another guy from the village. She has heard hundreds of 'I Love You's over the years, none of them ever turned into anything. None of those guys ever lasted more than a month at most. None of them could ever give her what she wanted. None of them were _who_ she wanted.

He remained silent to her question.

' _This is not like him, something's wrong.'_ The beautiful blonde thought to herself.

' _Maybe he's regretting saying it, maybe he's worried about what I'm going to say. Come on, Sai, say something. You had the balls to 'confess' to me, do something with it so we can talk through it so we can get over this as soon as possible.'_ Ino was sure that he was just confused, everyone in the village knew that Sai didn't have the best handle on emotions and that relationships and the like were like a foreign language to him. Surely his 'confession' was just misplaced friendship. That's it, that's what it had to be. Sai was confusing friendship feelings for love. Of course! He didn't understand the concept of love like that, he must just be confused!

"I do not believe that there is anything further to talk about, Ino." Said the pale ninja who's eyes were still sealed shut.

"I told you how I feel about you, as I meant to. I believe that I explained myself reasonably well." He hesitated for a few seconds.

"I do not wish to discuss it further, actually. I believe that I may have been a little… too impatient with telling you that." The pale ninja let out a breath from his nose and paused.

"I do not even fully understand these things that I am feeling, I believe that it was a mistake to tell you what I told you about how I felt, I am sorry." Finishing, he opened his eyes and slightly lowered his head into a bow, apologizing.

Ino's eyes shot wide open, so her gut was right, he didn't actually love her! She shouldn't have been surprised by this, as she was more than familiar with hearing those words. It felt… like a relief in a way, like with him saying that she was free from having to entertain his silly idea that he liked her. She wouldn't have to break his heart now and she wouldn't have to deal with another fruitless romance. The blonde let out a calming breath, now everything was back as it should be. She had far more pressing things to worry about then Sai, such as the billboard brow getting in between her and her Naruto. Ino was far more concerned about getting Naruto to fall for her then whatever Sai was going on about. He was Sai, his understanding of human emotions is non-existent, he wouldn't understand love if it bit him in the butt. The beautiful blonde smiled, pushing the thoughts of Sai's 'confession' away and thinking of her blond hero once again as she rolled over to go to sleep. Hopefully, if she fell asleep thinking of him she'd dream of him again. Her dreams involving the village hero were also so… _rousing_. There was never a dull moment when she dreamed of him, hopefully this time she'd be able to control herself a bit more, she was sharing a room with Sai now, she didn't want him to hear her in her sleep. The sheer embarrassment alone almost killed her when during one of her more… _energized_ dreams involving Naruto, she woke herself up in the middle of the night moaning, panting and screaming his name, her body hot, sticky and wet, all the while stroking her breasts in her sleep and inserting her fingers inside herself. She was relieved when she learned that no one had heard her that night. The beautiful blonde knew that she couldn't of been able to live something like that down.

Ino smiled as she imagined sleeping next to the village hero and she eventually fell asleep not long after that, not even thinking of the pale man sitting on the floor a few feet from the edge of the bed even once. She was in her own personal paradise inside her own head, she could do whatever she wanted with Naruto in here and Sakura would be none the wiser. If only, if only it were real... if only she could manipulate him like this in real life, she would finally be able to sleep with the real Naruto…

XxxxxXxxxxX

 ****MATURE CONTENT BELOW! THOSE UNDER 18 SHOULD LEAVE THE STORY****

(Ino's POV)

(Note: Normal "" and '' used for dream sequences and flashbacks.)

(Ino's Dream)

"Naruto! Ooooh! OOOOH! There! Right there!" The beautiful blonde was sprawled out on thin lavender sheets, her body wriggling and shaking at the sensation of the Hero of the Leaf between her legs.

"Aaah! Aaaaah! Aaaaaah! Naru-" Ino was cut off when the blond hero slipped his ravenous tongue in between her folds. His fingers alone made her mind melt and put her in paradise, how the hell is he able to do this?

The blonde couldn't remember exactly how she and Naruto had gotten to this but honestly, in this moment, she couldn't give a damn, all she knows that she's making love with the man of her dreams. The man whom she loves in moving his tongue inside her at this very moment, now wasn't the time to think, now was the time for pleasure!

Oh and what pleasure it was! Not in all of her years of love making had she ever felt something as good as this! She was finally with _her_ man. The one whom was meant for _her_! She couldn't think, she couldn't think, her mind was exploding, she was in such magnificent, absolute divine pleasure, the outside world didn't matter right now. Even god couldn't stop her in this moment right now, she didn't care that she didn't know how she got into this situation with Naruto but she didn't care. She didn't care if the entire world heard her cries of pleasure, this feeling is what she's longed for for so long!

The blond haired hero continued his unholy attack on her genitals and she could only let out moans and cries of pleasure. She was in paradise! Finally in paradise with _her_ hero. She had waited years for this moment, she would savor this sensation for years to come.

"Aaaah! Naruto! Naru… I, I love.. You!" The blonde managed to force out, her voice hoarse from her moans and screams of pleasure. And as soon as the sensations of Naruto attacking her crotch started, they stopped. Without warning he stopped his licking and raised his head from in between her legs and looked deep into her eyes.

' _Oh god!'_ She thought, she couldn't get enough of his eyes! Whenever she gazed into them she seemed to drown in the sea of blue. She attempted to smile for him as he looked at her but failed, her mind was woozy, she couldn't think straight, she looked and felt drunk out of her mind. She watched in anticipation as he slowly, almost seductively opened his mouth, licked his lips and prepared to return her words.

"I… I love… Sakura-chan!" He spat the last word, pulling away from her legs and seemingly darkened his expression. His usual bright and caring self was replaced with anger and spite. She sat up quickly on the bed and reached out to him but he simply moved backwards from her. Besides him, almost like a phantom appeared her pink haired rival, instantly grabbing on and hanging off of the hero. They both smiled cruelly to her and looked to each other and slowly tilted their heads and brought their lips closer.

Ino watched in horror as her heart broke as she watched the man whom she loved, whom she wanted, kissed another woman, her rival, her _friend_!

The two's kiss intensified as Naruto slipped his arms around Sakura's back and started to pull her shirt over her head. Sakura was too busy stroking his erect member to notice. The two continued as Ino began to feel tears form around her eyes.

"Stop! Naruto, stop!" She begged, pleaded, hoped.

"I thought that you loved me! I… I… thought that you were destined for me…" Her voice broke and her tongue fumbled in her mouth and stopped working. Her mind was shattering, she had gone from sheer, unrivaled pleasure to heartbreaking agony seeing _her_ man love another woman.

"Naruto!" The beautiful blonde yelled as she sat up in her bed, straight as a pole, instantly walking from her dream. Her mind was in a haze, what happened? A sound! Her foggy mind, after years of intense training being a ninja honed in on a barely audible noise not so far away.

Reaching for the light she turned it on and her eyes took a few seconds to adjust but she quickly registered that she was in the inn room she was sharing with Sai for the mission. She turned her head to follow the noise that she heard earlier, not the feet away laid Sai on the loveseat next to the wall. He must have stirred in his sleep from hearing her suddenly yell out in as she woke. The blonde was glad that she hadn't woken him up, some of the parts of her dream were coming back to her piece by piece, and from what she could figure she knew she she must've been making noises of pleasure in her sleep again.

The beauty of the Leaf brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs and attempted to hold back tears, the ending of the dream which started so perfectly had come back to her mind, slamming into it as hard as it could. As if it wanted to crush her hopes and desires, as if to say that her dreams would never come true.

The blonde forced back painful sobs as the words of Naruto in her mind swirled around and assaulted her:

' _I love Sakura.'_ His words stung her mind and attempted to drive her mad.

Ino quietly sobbed into her hands and shook with pain, rocking back and forth slowly.

' _He loves Sakura… he doesn't have to say it, I know it to be true. He'll never want to be with me…'_ She confessed to herself. There was no way that Naruto would ever pick her over Sakura, he loved her more than life itself.

' _But why? Why do you love her? I don't understand… she… she's never loved you…'_ She paused to breath in to stop her nose from running.

' _I… I love you, Naruto, and you're supposed to love me, too. You were sent for me… you are my hero. My hero, not Sakura's, not hers, mine. You rescued me, not her that day… that day you chose me over her. So why do you still say that you love her?'_

(Flashback)

Whaaam! A sudden wave of pain shot through Ino's broken and beaten body. Another wave of agonizing pain tore through her body, making it feel like it was about to shatter.

How had it come to this? How did it go so bad? This was supposed to be a simple search and destroy mission with Naruto the savior of the world by her side. How, how could this mission have turned out like this?

Ino had been taken prisoner, not easily she might add. She, Sakura and Naruto had been sent by the Hokage to locate and destroy this enemy fortress, an easy enough task for someone of Naruto's caliber, os so they thought. This 'simple' mission went sideways when hundreds of foot soldiers poured out of the compound and attacked the trio. The two girls had gotten separated from the blond hero who was busy fighting off dozens of armed soldiers at once. Even though he had promised to them earlier that he wouldn't let any harm come to them he lost concentration for only a moment and lost sight of them while in battle. A second was all it took and his two teammates were whisked from battle and to the prison towers before he knew what happened.

The girls were separated immediately and subjected to intense torture and treatment from their keepers to gain information from them. But the two women were strong, no matter how much pain was dealt to them they never whispered a word. They would endure any pain for the sake of their teammates, their comrades, their family, their village. The two women were moved constantly by their captors to prevent the blond hero from rescuing them. In the end it took a week for Ino to gather the strength and to get a moment of peace to contact Naruto via her Mind Transfer Jutsu. In those brief seconds she was able to tell him where they were, she couldn't help but cry tears of joy and hope when he responded to her telepathic messege.

He reassured the two that he would stop at nothing to rescue them. He proclaimed loudly and boldly to the two that nothing on earth would keep him from saving them. Ino remembered his next words like they were etched on the back of her hand, he told her that he would rescue her first, that he would come to save her first.

Over the years Ino had seen the heroic side of Naruto many times, even when he was a kid he would rush to the aid of others, regardless of his own well-being. He would rather die than to let one of his friend's suffer. The blonde beauty remembered the darked day in Konoha history, when Pain of the Akatsuki attacked the village and in an instant turned to once mighty village to rubble. In the blink of an eye the Leaf village was brought to its knees, Lady Tsunade too weak to fight, too weak to defend them, they had to one to rescue them. Everyone in the village remembers where they were, what they were doing and what was going through their heads at that moment, when they all collectively understood that they stood no chance against Pain. In a moment and entire village motionlessly bowed to a single man without ever lowering their heads.

That would've been the end of her, that would've been the end of the entire village, thousands of innocent civilians and hundreds of ninjas. That day was destined to be their last, or so that was what they entire village thought. They thought themselves doomed, defeated, destroyed, beaten, they thought they would die that day. And they would've if it hand been for the golden hero who suddenly appeared from a puff of smoke. Standing atop a giant toad, a small band of giants by his side.

Every villager who was lucky enough to be close enough to see remembers that moment, when their hero, their _savior_ seemingly appeared out of thin air to save them, to save her. Like every villager around Ino remembered seeing Naruto's entrance to save them. To her it seemed that he materialized from the very air, as if the heavens sent him down to them. His people, he returned to his people when they needed him most. In an instant the village stopped worrying and fearing for their lives, for even if they didn't know it yet, their hero, their _savior_ had come to them. That is what the people of the Leaf considered him, their savior. He alone stood against an enemy powerful enough to level the village in an instant. He alone stood up to the great foe. He alone risked his life to save them all. He was their savior and they were his people.

Ino remembered feeling those feelings when Naruto told her that he was on his way to rescue them, to rescue _her_. And again, like that day a little over a year ago, the darkest day in Leaf history, she remembered the comfort of his words, of his promise to save _her_. Naruto never broke his promises, he would save her first, no matter what. He would save _her_.

It was that strength that powered her though the next few days of torture, if it hadn't been for Naruto's words she didn't know if she'd be able to make it through that hell.

Naruto, hero of the Leaf and Savior of the Shinobi world, fought for three days straight until he was able to make his way to where his comrades were. When Ino told him what they were going through his heart shook and trembled, he couldn't bare to imagine his friend's going through such pain. When she gave him their location he had a brief second to make a decision; who to save first? He wanted to save his beloved Sakura first but thinking about it he figured that the one who needed him more was Ino, she sounded in more pain than Sakura, probably due to her ability to heal herself so well. Ino was a medical nin too but not even close to being on the same ground as Sakura. In that moment Naruto decided that he had to save Ino first, she wouldn't be able to last much more. He would have to rescue her, break her out of the compound and take her to safety before engaging with the enemy again. He couldn't risk fighting with her in such bad shape. He would have to save Ino first, leave with her and go back for Sakura. He prayed that he was making the right choice, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to her.

It was roughly dawn of the next day the beautiful blonde heard screams of pain and agony in between her own, it was faint but in her heart she knew that it was _her_ time, her time to be rescued by the hero, the savior, Naruto. In between a veil of blood over her eyes she made out a miraculous sight; a golden deity broke through the roof of the tower, as if it had descended from heaven. She was a hundred feet up at the top of the tower, yet he spared to time in rescuing her. As she faded in and out of consciousness she saw images, scenes from her dreams, a golden man clothed if fiery chakra flew down from the sky, shaking the very building in which she was imprisoned and charged the small army head on. The battle seemed to go in slow motion to her, she saw every blow, every rasengan blast, every clone appear, it was madness but it was madness for _her_ , for _her_. He was doing this all for her. She struggled to stay conscious long enough to see the face of the man who was fighting so hard to rescue her, his back ever to her. Oh how she just wished to be able to see his face in that moment, the face of her hero.

The blonde beauty of the leaf woke minutes later, though it seemed like hours. She was no longer in her prison, she no longer had shackles around her ankles, wrists and neck. She no longer was clothed in dirty rags that smelled of death and blood, instead she looked to see a familiar orange jacket draped over her bloodied form. His jacket, her hero's jacket, Naruto's jacket. She pressed herself against his warm, sturdy form and he carried her in his arms, running away from the compound. She was curled up in a ball against his warm bare chest as he ran. They ran for what seemed like days before they got far enough away to rest. Her hero summoned a dozen clones to watch over her as he went back for Sakura, all the while holding her in his arms. Lying there like that was something that Ino had never experienced before in her life. She could feel the comfort and compassion oozing out of her her for her. He held countless foes at bay all the while never letting her go. She felt so comforted, so safe, sa at peace, so loved.

It was as if the world had stopped for her, nothing else mattered as long as she had him there, holding her, saying in between breaths that he would never let anyone ever lay a finger on her again. He promised that he would protect her with his life, that he would always be there and protect her.

Her heart trembled at this, he had chosen to save her rather than Sakura, he had saved her. By choosing to save her first he had chosen her over Sakura. Naruto Uzumaki had chosen her over Sakura… so why does he still act like he likes Sakura and not her? He had chosen her, not Sakura. Surely there was a reason, he must have some reason, he chose her. He was sent to save her, she loved him, he was sent to love _her_ and her alone! Naruto lover her! There was no way that he could love Sakura, she never loved him, while she loved, needed him. She needed him in order to feel whole. If he weren't with her then she wouldn't be able to live by herself.

(End flashback)

' _I still don't understand, Naruto, why do you still love her? Don't you love me?'_ She asked herself in her mind as she remembered that horrible mission all those months ago.

' _You are meant for me, and I am meant for you. We are meant to be with each other… don't you see that? You are not meant to love Sakura… but me. Don't you see that, Naruto?'_

Sakura and Ino had been rivals their entire lives, since their first days in the academy they strived to outshine, outperform, outdo the other. They were rivals in everything since they were just little girls, this included rivals in love. They both fell for the same boy instantly, Sasuke Uchiha. The two competed for his affection and love for years until Ino lost her feelings for the Uchiha and fell for not him but a new man, the hero of the Leaf.

But fate is a fickle thing, the two young woman had grown out of their rivalry for love ages ago, they were no longer at each other's throat for it, but now, as it was like many years ago, they grew to fall for the same man once again. Their rivalry returned with a vengeance, they attempted to beat the other and gain the affection not the hero before the other, or so the blonde thought. Her mind only focused on making the hero hers.

The blonde wiped away her remaining tears and released her grip around her legs, sliding back down under the covers. Trying to fall back asleep and re enter the place where Naruto was hers and hers alone.

' _If only I could control him like I could in my dreams, then he would finally realize that he was mean to be with me. Then we could be together, we could finally be together. If only I were god, I would just control him and make him love-'_ The beauties mind stopped, something clicked in her mind. She was no god but she did have the power to control him. To make him finally realize that he loves her. All she would have to do is use a combination of a modified genjutsu and her Mind control jutsu. If she did that then Naruto would finally see that he was supposed to be with her, and not Sakura.

XxxxxXxxxxX

Ino suddenly, hearing the ringing our her alarm. Damn the alarm, she had been right in the middle of an amazing dream with Naruto, she and he were making love on a hot springs and they listened to romantic music in the light of dozens of candles, it had been perfect. That is, until she had woken up.

The blonde sat up and turned off the alarm groggily. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, she had woken up rather abruptly and had a terrible nightmare. She had stayed awake for quite some time thinking and remembering why she loved Naruto. She smiled upon thinking of his name, she had had several amazing dreams involving the blond hero of the leaf during the night. Oh he she wished to be able to actually be able to be with him like in her erotic dreams.

A lightbulb went off in her head, she remembered what she thought of before she had fallen asleep. A surefire way to get him to love her, she had the idea of using a combination of a genjutsu and her Mind Control jutsu to make him realize that he loved her. When she does that she'd finally be able to make him hers and live out all her fantasies with the handsome hero.

Ino and Sai both got up and dressed for the morning, she in a gorgeous white backless sundress with fashionable sunglasses and a large sun hat and he in a light grey sports jacket over a casual dress shirt. She had to help him fold the small pocket square for his breast pocket since he had no clue how to fold it. The fake couple got ready without much conversation, only the causal 'Good morning' or 'How are you?' was said. They were both too engrossed in their thoughts to offer much in the ways of conversation. She with thinking about how she was going to manipulate Naruto into sleeping with her and he with his confused and jumbled feelings directed and focused around her. He honestly didn't know how he felt or how to explain it. He had no clue.

Both being ready the pair left their room and checked out at the reception desk in the lobby, they discovered that they were the first ones ready to go. They decided to head out anyway, it was decided beforehand that to avoid looking like a group that they would spend a lot of time during the mission without any contact with the others. They would be able to talk to each other via Ino's Mind Reading jutsu in case of emergency but that was not going to be used for daily conversation. From here on out they would have little run ins with their comrades.

XxxxxXxxxxX

(Naruto's POV)

(Naruto's dream)

"Naruto what are you doing?" Questioned a pink haired ninja. She was really confused and rather a bit upset, he had better have a good explanation for this.

The blond hero was sitting at Ichiraku's like he usually did but this time instead of a pile of empty ramen bowls around him he was staring at a bowl filled with ramen the size of a pig. The bowl must've been a foot tall and two and a half around at the top. Inside the massive monstrosity of a bowl was several literal pounds of beef flavored ramen and naruto fish cake toppings. The blond hero was staring hungrily at the bowl when Sakura showed up and started questioning him like it was an interrogation.

"What do you think you're doing, Naruto?" She asked again, not happy that she had to ask twice.

"Uh, eating ramen, Sakura-chan." He answered blankly, wasn't it obvious? In front of him was a bowl big enough to feed Choji filled with his favorite ramen, what else would he be doing?

"Don't be a baka, Naruto, I know that you're eating ramen, that's fairly obvious by itself." She sighed and stepped in a little closer.

"I was wondering more as to why the bowl is so things massive, surely you're not planning on eating all of that by yourself." She wasn't holding her breath, this was Naruto, when it came to ramen there was no stopping him.

He smiled back and answered.

"The bowl's this big because it's for an eating contest, Sakura-chan. If someone can eat this bowl of ramen and beat Choji's record then they'd get a coupon for all you can eat ramen for a year!" He smiled again, he was so happy, he'd be able to gorge himself on ramen and when he wins he'd get free ramen for a year! Choji won every year, but now with him out of the village on a mission this year was finally Naruto's year.

The pinkette spied the bowl and had a look of doubt on her face.

"You're going to eat all that? By yourself? Are you sure that you can handle that much food, Naruto? Because I don't want to have to heal and sooth your stomach when you're bursting at the seems with ramen." The hero let out his trademark laugh and smiled.

"Of course I'm not going to be eating it all by myself, this is a team eating contest after all. We pair up in teams of two and try to beat Choji's solo record of not only the fastest time but the most ramen eaten." He smiled again, the smile seemed to be stuck on his face, he was sitting in front a bowl of ramen the size of a small person, no wonder why he was so happy.

"Oh so it's a team eating contest is it?" The pink haired medic asked. He nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? If I had know then I would've prepared for it, I already ate breakfast, there's no way that i could even eat a tenth of that right now." The blond hero gave her a confused look.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Sakura-chan? You're not my partner for the eating contest, she is." Naruto said simply, like it was common knowledge.

The pinkette immediately grew jealous and got angry.

"She? Who is she? Is it Ino?" She asked.

Naruto shook his head calmly and pointed his thumb to the person on the seat to his left. Sakura glanced around him to see who he was teamed up with and was surprised to see that it was none other than Hinata.

"Ino? No, why would I ask Ino to team up with me? She can barely eat a whole piece of bread before complaining about over eating for her diet. There's no way that she'd help me."

Sakura seemed visibly upset to the blond hero, yet for the life of him he couldn't think as to why she was angry.

"Hinata?" Sakura asked, surprised to see the Hyuga heir here, how had she been so quiet that Sakura hadn't noticed her presence?

"H-hi, are you?" She asked sweetly, that did not help Sakura's attitude.

"Why did you ask Hinata to team up you and not me?" She demended.

Naruto gave her a look.

"Well because last time I did you said that you'd never join an eating contest with me so… I asked Hinata." He replied.

Suddenly without warning the pinkette grabbed the arm of the blond hero and attempted to pull him from his seat but was having trouble as she was half his size.

"You're coming with me, Naruto Uzumaki! We're going to team up and win this contest." She said, trying to pull him away from Hinata and the large bowl of ramen.

"Stop that, Sakura-chan. I told you that I don't want to do-" He was cut off by an evil glare from Sakura.

"That with you." He continued. "Let go of me, that hurts. Let me be with Hinata, I already promised that I'd team up with her." Naruto tried to explain himself but Sakura was not having it, for some reason she was really upset that he wanted to team up with Hinata.

XxxxxXxxxxX

Naruto reached out once again to her and this attempt was met with the same warning:

"I said don't touch me." She warned.

The hero stopped and hesitated, she sounded really upset, even angry, what happened? Why is she is such a bad mood? His eyes widen as he glances down to his crotch. Did she wake up before him and see his 'arousal' as he was sleeping? Did that freak her out? She had to know that this was a totally normal thing, right? At least that's what he'd been told.

"I, I just want to be left alone, okay? I'm not feeling the best right now. So if you could, please leave me alone, okay, Naruto?" She asked, ver voice somewhat returning to it's usual tone.

"Of course, Sakura-chan, anything you want, just say the word. If you want some peace and quiet without me bothering you then just say the word." He said with a smile.

The two got ready in mostly silence, as Naruto was finally able to get Sakura to have normal conversations with him again after half an hour. They changed behind the shoji screen in their prepacked clothes for the mission. Sakura in a floral knee length skirt and white top with a small sun hat and Naruto in a navy blue jacket with white undershirt and casual dress pants. Naruto had originally buttoned up the jacket but Sakura suggested that he unbutton them, saying that he looked too formal to be going on a cruise ship for a vacation. After a few incidents of the pinkette being awkward and timid around the hero she finally calmed down and the two left for the ship at the docs.

The pair arrived to see that Shikamaru, Temari, Ino and Sai were already there waiting for them. The six ninja didn't show any sign of acknowledging each other as they were undercover and their roles had never met before.

Not before long the other passengers arrived, many of whom were driven to the docs, not walking like the ninjas in disguise. The resort guests sat around and most of them complained, rather loud and annoyingly naruto noted, that the process for getting them on the ship was taking longer than usual. Naruto and the pinkette stood in line waiting to get cleared by the security and have their invitations verified. Naruto was a little nervous that he would get recognized as a world famous shinobi but no one seemed to recognize him. Naruto was busy thinking to himself about this when Sakura besides him suddenly let out a spooked yelp. Turning around to look at her he saw that a man whom couldn't have been a year older than him had grabbed Sakura's butt from behind. His face had a dumb and obnoxious smirk, like it wasn't a big deal that he had done that.

Naruto tensed his arm to swing at the man but was stopped in his tracks when Sakura backhanded the man across the face with a satisfying snap.

"S- Hana!" Naruto yelled, barely able to remember to use her undercover name.

The slapped man staggered back from the sheer force of Sakura's slap. Little did he know that she just slapped him on reaction,and if she had intended to actually hurt him then his head would be rolling on the floor.

"What did you-" Sakura started to yell at the man before he returned the backhand, slapping her across the face, sending her petite form off balance, nearly knocking her over.

"Why you fucking bitch! How dare you slap me, you bloody cow! Who do you think you are?" The man demanded as his face was red with both anger and a small handprint.

Touching her like that was bad enough but to hit her like that and to call her those names, that crossed so many lines by a leap for Naruto. In an instant he put himself in between the two and reared back as far as he could go and launched his full powered punch into his opponent's jaw, sending the man to the ground, his butt on the dock in an instant. The ma laid in a daze for a few seconds, not sure what hit him.

"Who the hell do _you_ think you are? You bastard! Touching my girlfriend like that, hitting her and calling her names like like that!" The hero of the Leaf raged. Unbeknownst to him this attracted a lot of attention, the private security was watching them very closely, looking ready to jump in at any second, clearly they weren't in the business of getting in the way of people like these. Also unknown to Naruto Shikamaru had seen what happened and had moved his way through the crowd to try to get to him. He was worried that Naruto would enter Sage Mode or something on instinct and blow their cover. He was also worried for the safety of the man on the ground, Naruto was a nice guy but one of the things you don't mess with him about is the people he cares about. If you even threatened someone he cared about you would find yourself on the wrong side of the most powerful ninja in the world.

The man shook his head and whipped some blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Why you!" He yelled, standing up. Fists raised in some kind of fighting stance unknown to the hero. But unknown fighting stance or not, Naruto was more than confident in his ability to school this guy with his pinkie toe.

Naruto raised his arms in a fighting stance as well and Shikamaru made a mad dash to the blond hero. When he reached him he instantly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey man, there's no need for you two to get in a fight. I understand that you're mad, hell, I'd be mad too if he did that to my wife but is something as trivial as this worth the risk of getting kicked from the ship before you even get aboard?" He asked, hoping that Naruto would understand his meaning and calm down. Much to his joy Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief when naruto lowered his fists and instead held out a steady arm for sakura to hold on to, who was still dizzy from the forceful slap.

Naruto eyed the security around him, shikamaru was right, they were about ready to kick him off and ruin the mission before they ever got on the ship, let alone on the resort.

Pulling Sakura into his arms in a comforting embrace he wanted to let her know without words that he would protect her. This display also showed this man that Naruto would not let him hit her again.

"Are you alright, Hana my dear?" He asked, repeating his name for her from earlier.

She lightly nodded her head and he gave her a brief hug before staring down the man who slapped her.

"Let's go, this man here is correct, someone like this isn't worth our time. We are here to enjoy a nice vacation from the family, not to be getting into fights." Passing by the man Naruto continued his threat.

"If you even try to touch her again I'll make sure that I actually hit you like a man." The man scowled.

"What the hell does that mean?" He demanded.

"It means that if you try a stunt like that again then I'll be sure to knock to clean out, believe me man, you do not know who you're messing with.

XxxxxXxxxxX

***Author's Note***

Thanks for reading, please leave a **Review**. Until next time this has been Hephaestus.


	14. Ch14: Catfights and Cameras

Chapter 14: Catfights and Cameras

(Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry about missing the chapter updates for the past two weekends. I am so sorry, life, work and stuff got busy. I ran out of time to finish the chapter last weekend so I figured that I'd take this week and extend the chapter for you guys to make up for it. I will try my best to get my butt in gear again and get another chapter out this weekend. But because this chapter was so long and my already short time frame to write the next chapter I just wanted to let you guys know that the next one will most likely be on the shorter end of my recent chapters. Don't worry, I won't upload it if it's under 4,000 words. I haven't finished this chapter yet so I don't know how long it'll be but it is without a doubt longer than any of my previous chapters for this story by far at 11,000 words. I figured that I'd write this now that I'm thinking about it.

Also, I have been thinking that in order to write longer chapters and to make them as best as I can that I might change my schedule from one chapter each week to one every two. I don't really want to but I think that it might be the best. Please, let me know your thoughts on it with a **Review** , I'd love to know what you guys think I should do You guys are the ones who read my work anyways, I should do whatever you guys want to the best of my ability. Thanks, Hephaestus.

One more thing, I am moving the first week of next month so I will have less time during the day to write for the next few weeks, as I haven't even started packing yet if you can believe it or not. I really appreciate your forgiveness and I will try my best to not go this long without at least saying anything again.)

(Author's Note: This chapter contains a character from a non anime series, but it is NOT a crossover. I just really like the character and couldn't help but add him as a character in this chapter. It's really obvious since I say his name but if you know the character, let me know in a review. I'm curious as to how many people will notice. The last time I did a subtle reference to another anime character no one said anything about it so I assumed that no one noticed him.)

Without further delay here is your long awaited next chapter…

* * *

Chapter 14: Catfights and Cameras

(Naruto/Sakura POV)

"Let's go, this man here is correct, someone like this isn't worth our time. We are here to enjoy a nice vacation from the family, not to be getting into fights." Passing by the man Naruto continued his threat.

"If you even try to touch her again I'll make sure that I actually hit you like a man." The man scowled.

"What the hell does that mean?" He demanded.

"It means that if you try a stunt like that again then I'll be sure to knock to clean out, believe me man, you do not know who you're messing with."

Wrapping his arm around her in a comforting manner, the hero led the pinkette away from the man whom he had punched. Leading the way through the line to get checked by the security and walked up the ramp from the dock leading up to the ship.

Once they were far enough away from prying ears Naruto dropped his character and whispered in her ear. From the perspective of anyone who happened to be watching, it seemed that he was pulling her in to kiss her cheek or the like as from every direction but the front their faces were covered by either her hair or his head.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan? Did that guy hurt you?" The hero asked, lightly placing his big hand over her face, giving her a concerned and worried look all the while.

"Y-yeah I'm okay, Naruto. T-thanks for worrying." The pinkette said softly. She turned her head to look directly at his. His eyes were focused on her so intensely that she turned a light shade of pink. She still wasn't used to him being this close and acting this way yet, even though he's always shown concern and worry for her in the past.

"It's not a problem, really. What am I supposed to do, not be worried after some bastard slaps you like that?" The blond asked sarcastically. The medic couldn't help but darken a shade of pink at his response, he was always so worried about her. The pinkette was starting to doubt that he liked someone else based on his actions of worrying for her but it was just in the back of her mind, as far away from all reason as it could possibly be. She lowered her voice even more and was hugging him before she could think.

"Thanks for doing that, Naruto. Thanks for punching him to protect me like that. You didn't have to."

Naruto subconsciously pulled her in to return the hug and gave her his trademark grin.

"Of course I did, Sakura-chan. Believe me, I'd do it again a thousand times over again for you. If he ever messes with you again let me know, I'll _talk_ to him for you."

The pinkette turned yet another shade darker. She smiled and gave him another brief squeeze before letting him go.

"You'd really do that for me?" She asks.

"A thousand times over, Sakura-chan. Forever and ever, I'll be there to protect you. You should know that by now, really." He said, as if it was obvious, to the medic she knew that it was when she thought about it. For her entire life, even before they became best friend's, he had risked his life to protect her. She could list dozens of examples of him protecting her over the years. Sakura had to force back a happy tear, wishing that she could live in moments like this forever, with him, her best friend, someone who she couldn't hide her feelings for, to be able to be held and comforted by him, to be cared for by him for the rest of her life.

' _If only… the dreams of a child.'_ She thought to herself. ' _Life isn't a fairy tale, you don't always get to be with the one you want and live your happy ever after. I don't deserve him anyways,... he should be with someone who's loved him from day one. He promises to protect me and to take care of me for my entire life without ever expecting anything in return. I've never once been good to him, how can I really think that he loves me? I've broken his heart more times than anyone else, he can't love me.'_ The pinkette was shaken from her thoughts at the sound of a familiar soothing voice calling her.

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" The hero asked. He was studying her face carefully as they stood standing in the hall to the main lobby of the ship.

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah, I'm okay, no need it worry, Naruto. I was just lost in thought." The medic spoke, hoping above all that he didn't ask what she was thinking about, and of course, he did.

"What were you thinking about? You kinda spaced out there for a minute." The blond asked, his arm still around her back with his hand on her shoulder, however neither of the two noticed.

"Nothing really, it's... uh, actually, Naruto, that's not true. I uh, have a question for you Naruto. And I want you to answer me honestly, you promised me yesterday that you would be honest with me about how you feel, okay? Can you do that?" Her eyes were looking into his, she couldn't hold back her worry, her doubt, she didn't want to just ask it like this but she felt like that she needed to hear it from the source to confirm once and for all if he liked her or not. Having Sai or Ino tell her that he liked her wasn't proof enough, she needed to hear it from his lips.

Naruto gave a little worried look for a second, from her voice he could tell that she was about to ask something really big, as long as she didn't ask him _that_. He smiled to make sure that he didn't seem worried.

"Okay, I promise that I'll answer honestly. You know my ninja way, I'll never go back on my word, I will _never_ lie to you."

' _Okay, here goes, it's now or never. I'll ask him, I'll do it. Come on, just do it! Just ask him already! Stop stalling and do it!'_ The pinkette yelled to herself, trying to psyche herself up to do it. She lowered her gaze from his eyes, she wouldn't be able to stand it if he confirmed her worries as she looked into his eyes, that would crush her completely.

"What,... what do you think of me, Naruto? I mean, what am I to you?" The petite pinkette asked softly, barely even audible even though Naruto's face was just inches from hers.

' _Of course she had to ask that, dammit! Why did she have to ask something like that? How am I supposed to answer a question like that? I promised that I wouldn't lie to her, but I can't answer honestly, can I? Of course not, she's my best friend, she doesn't think of me as anything more than that. She loves that damn Sasuke.'_ The blond hero was besides himself, what was he supposed to do? Lie, breaking his biggest promise to her of his life but protect their friendship? Or was he supposed to tell her the truth and drop a bomb and tear their friendship apart? The risk of the latter was too much, he couldn't risk losing her in his life, he lived to be with her.

"I uh, what makes you ask that so suddenly like that, Sakura-chan? Why are you so serious about it?" Asked the hero, trying to gauge how he should answer. If he knew why she was asking then he could think of the best way to answer.

She raised her gaze back to his face and gave a look that at first he couldn't place.

"Don't answer questions with questions, I asked you what I am to you. I want you to answer me honestly." Her tone wasn't mad, angry or upset, all three in which he was very used to. This time she sounded almost worried, worried how he was going to answer. And her worry only made him worry even more, if he messed up here then his entire world could be flipped upside down.

"Well isn't it obvious, Sakura-chan? You asked what I think of you? I think that you're amazing. You're really smart, kind, powerful and pretty. I've thought of you like that since the day I met you." He tried his best to hide a gulp, her face was blank, he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Hopefully he'd be able to convince her with this answer.

"You asked what you are to me?" He asked. The pinkette only tilted her head a degree up and down to answer.

"Well, you're my bestfriend, did you have to ask? We've spent most of our lives working together, side by side, so of course I think of you as my best friend. We hang out all the time when not on missions on our free time. You are the single closest friend I have ever had in my life, and that's the truth, Sakura-chan. More than Sasuke and more than Shikamaru, you are my closest friend. So when I say that I will always protect you I really mean it. I will always protect the entire village and everyone in it." He ended with a smile, he looked to her to see that her face was down. She opened her mouth to speak, her voice was so low that he had a very hard time hearing her even though he was so close.

"So you are saying that the reason why you worry and care about me so much is because we're best friends?" She asked.

"Well… yeah. Why? Is… is that a problem?" Asked the blond hero

"I uh, well I know that you had a crush on me when we were kids, the same kind of silly crush that I had on Sasuke-kun. I was just, wondering if you still-." The pinkette's quiet question was cut off by a bellhop who hadn't heard her speaking as he approached.

"Excuse me, sir, ma'am." The two looked to the tall and thin man who had walked up to them. They had completely forgotten that they were in a hallway just a few paces from a busy and noisy lobby. In that moment they had left all other thoughts behind them and were living in the moment. Now that moment was interrupted by a very energetic bellhop who was trying to get their attention.

"Please pardon the interruption sir, but all of the other guests have arrived and are waiting in the lobby where the ship's manager is waiting to make an announcement. So I ask if you would please come with me so that we don't keep him waiting." The tall man ended with a rehearsed smile. He spoke with respect that he for sure had to use with dealing with people of this class.

"Oh, my apologies!" Naruto said, changing back into his character. "I was not aware that we were holding everyone up. I was just trying to make sure that my girlfriend was alright. A man had the audacity to slap her before we came aboard, I was just making sure that she was okay." The blond hero hugged the pinkette when he called her his girlfriend, trying to make it seem as genuine as possible. It was a little hard saying it like that but he needed to be able to forget his embarrassment and play out his character. Plus, this was the only possible situation in which he could be this close and call her his girlfriend without her getting angry at him. Hopefully.

"No problem, sir, it is alright. Ma'am, do you need to see the ship's medic? I could take you two there if you like." The man gestured down the hallway with his hand. Naruto shook his head and looked to the pinkette.

"Thank you for the offer but there is no need. It is not serious enough for that. If you would, please direct us the the lobby." The blond spoke with an authoritative voice that the medic had only heard a few times in her life. Naruto only talked this way when he spoke with the other Kage or people of authority. While he normally didn't talk like that, people were sure to listen to him when he did.

"Very well then, please follow me." Said the bellhop.

oooOooo

"I would like welcome all of you aboard the Howaitosanzu Private Resort and Spa Cruise Liner. My name is Mr. Marion Moseby and I am the manager of this fine vessel." The blond and pinkette heard this as they entered the main lobby of the ship. Apparently they had started without them.

The hero of the Leaf eyed the man who was speaking, he was fairly short, dark skinned, had very short hair and was dressed in a dark grey jacket that was the mixture of a suit jacket and a captain's uniform, with decor on his shoulders and the wrists of his sleeves. On the right side of his tie he had a yellow anchor on his suit and on the left side he had a blue nametag which read 'Mr. Moseby'. The decor was a bright yellow that matched his buttons, dress shirt and yellow and blue striped tie. He also wore bright white shorts that stopped just above his knees and matching knee-length white socks and white dress shoes. On his face he wore a bright, white smile. He appeared to be the happiest person on earth to Naruto.

Needless to say that both the hero and pinkette were surprised to see someone like him. No one in their entire village looked like this man. While neither of them had spent any time on the seas on a ship like this they were sure that this man was dressed as one of a kind.

"I would also like to thank all of you for choosing our resort for your vacations. As you are all aware, our resort is one of the most luxurious in the world, and we take pride in that fact. With world class accommodations, dining, staff and a once in a lifetime experience designed for only the upper elite of this world. Here at Howaitosanzu, we strive to make your stay with us as enjoyable as possible, so please, feel free to let one of our staff know if you require anything. We are here to serve and to please." The short man paused to smile again as he motioned to several members of the staff standing at attention behind him.

"If no one has any questions then we will begin the process of checking you in while our amazing staff bring your bags to your rooms. If you would all please form into four lines then we can start to check you into your rooms." As soon as the words left his mouth the other guests in the room all tried to force their way to the front of the lines. Naruto was beginning to learn pretty quickly that these 'elites' behaved no better than children. He listened and watched as they complained and demanded that the process went faster.

"Next in line, please." The blond and pinkette moved up to the large wooden desk to check in. They hadn't pushed their way to the front and were cut in front of several times which resulted in them being near the end of the line. Naruto handed his and Sakura's tickets to the young woman behind the desk who was clearly wearing a fake smile.

"Here you go, miss." The blond said. The woman behind the desk took the tickets from his hand and read them.

"Oh, Mr. Ishihara, Ms. Fukushima, thank you so much for waiting. Your suite number is A113, it is on the first floor above deck. Here is your room key." She said, handing a small white card to the blond. He smiled and took the card from her hand.

"Thank you very much, miss." The hero said genuinely.

"It is not a problem, sir. If you don't have any questions then would you please follow this man here to your room? Your bags are already waiting there for you." The woman who still had a fake smile said as she gestured to another man in a server uniform standing to the side of the desk. He tipped his hat respectfully to them and spoke.

"It would be an honor to show you two to your room for the night." Naruto nodded in acknowledgement to the man and turned his gaze back to the woman.

"No, I believe that we don't have any questions, thank you for your help, miss." The blond smiled to the woman behind the desk and lead Sakura with his arm behind her back softly to the man waiting to take them to their room.

"Then if you two would follow me, I will show you to your room." Said the server.

oooOooo

"Here we are, suite A113."

"Thank you very much." Said the blond.

"Yes, thank you." Agreed the pinkette to the server. The man nodded to the two and opened their door and showed them inside.

Sakura followed the two men in the room and was immediately shocked upon seeing their room for the night. Their suite, which she was under the impression that it would be about the side of a regular hotel or inn room was massive. Nothing short of immaculate. Their room was first of all two floors in one, the first being the main room and lounge with a brown L-shaped couch with two matching comfortable looking lounge chairs with foot rests. A glass dining table was towards the back of the room in front of a large floor to ceiling window that covered half the wall that sported a long curtain that was open to reveal the ocean. On the side of the room under the loft which held the second floor was another lounge area with a couch, loveseat, several bookcases and shelves and even a full-sized grand piano as the centerpiece of the lounging area. Next to the dining area was the blue carpeted wooden stairs that matched the pillows on the couch, the throw rug under the couches and the dining chairs. The pinkette's eyes drifted to the second floor which housed the bedroom and bath, the bedroom was clearly visible behind a clear glass railing which separated the second and first floor. A large curtain was drawn back on both sides of the bedroom that could be closed for privacy.

"This room is amazing…" She couldn't help but say as she looked around. If this was their room for only one night on the ship then what would their room at the resort look like? This was already insane in her mind. Do people really spend their one night traveling to the resort in a room like this? The suite was larger than her whole apartment she lived in with her parents.

"Well of course, ma'am. Here at Howaitosanzu, we only offer the best for our guests. Every suite onboard is nothing less than first class. With every suite on this floor having the same layout." The man walked to the center of the room and gestured to the room as a whole around them.

"Allow me to go over all of the accommodations of this room. As you can see, this room is very large, being almost 1,600 square feet and two stories high, this room can comfortably accommodate up to six people at a time. The master bedroom is upstairs in the loft. It features a glass wall partition and of course blackout curtains for your privacy during the night. The adjoining bathroom features a tub, shower, dual sinks and a bidet. A second bath with a shower is found on the main level as well." The two Leaf ninja stood in the middle of the room with their jaws on the floor, they had never seen a room like this before. Neither of them could believe that they were going to be staying the night in a room like this.

The man gestured upstairs to the bedroom and started to speak again, completely missing the two ninjas reaction.

"You will find that your luggage is up in the loft in the walk-in closet waiting for you. Also, sir, every guest aboard has been invited to a dinner tonight in the grand ballroom, followed by a ball. We would be honored to see you there, are you going to be going, sir?" Questioned the man. The pinkette couldn't help but notice that the man only ever acknowledged her when she spoke, but never directed any information or questions to her. Only to Naruto? Was it because he was a man and she a woman? The pink haired medic knew that gender equality was best in the ninja villages and that women were traditionally treated as less than their male counterparts by the outside world. She could only assume that this was even more prevalent in rich, elite, high class society.

The blond looked to the pinkette and back to the man before she could say a word.

"Of course, we would love to dine with the captain and the rest of the guests tonight." Naruto said, playing his role well.

"Very well, sir. If there is nothing else that I can help you with then I am going to excuse myself and give you and your lady some privacy and time to unpack." The pink haired girl watched the hero think for a second before telling the man that they were fine.

"Very well, sir. Good day." The man bowed low to Naruto, turned to Sakura and bowed as well, but not as low this time and left the room in silence.

"I don't like how that guy was acting. For the most part he acted like I wasn't even here." The pinkette said as soon as the man left the room. The blond hero gave her a look.

"Really? I didn't really notice." Said the blond.

"That's because you're a guy, you wouldn't." Replied the pinkette.

"I guess that's true, but don't worry about it, okay? Let's try and have some fun at least while we're here." Naruto began to move towards the stairway and continued.

"We talked about meeting up at the pool after we unpacked, right?" He asked Sakura.

"Yeah, we decided that before we went to the inn yesterday. Why?"

"If that's the case then why don't we act like normal vacationers and go to the pool after we unpack? That was the plan after all." Said the hero.

"You just want to go to the pool, don't you?" Questioned the pinkette. She saw the blond rub the back of his head and smiled like a kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Obviously she was correct.

"You're right, but can you blame me? It's like a hundred degrees outside and did you see that pool? The water slide was taller than a house. Hell, a house could fit _in_ the pool."

"Fine, we'll go to the pool after we unpack our clothes for the day and change into our swimsuits." Said the pinkette which received a smile from the blond hero, he couldn't wait to go to the pool and relax.

The two Leaf nin went upstairs to the loft and grabbed their suitcases and started to unpack a few clothes for the day and the night. They participated in normal small talk, mostly about their room for the night. Neither of the two remembered that Sakura had began to ask Naruto a serious question about his feelings for her before they were interrupted in the hallway. They grabbed their respective swimsuits and the pinkette left to change in the adjoining bathroom, away from the eyes of the handsome hero. This room actually provided privacy, not like the room that they had stayed in at the inn the night before.

oooOooo

(Naruto POV)

The blond hero changed quickly into his swimming trunks in the bedroom. All he had to do was remove his shirt, jacket, pants and throw his trunks over his underwear. As he was changing he had the notion that something at the back of his mind was telling him that he was being watched. Naruto remained calm and acted normal as he finished changing. He started to put his clothes back in his suitcase as he tried to focus on his gut feeling that he was being watched.

The blond closed his eyes and entered the seal inside of his stomach. He appeared in the dark room, ankle deep in water, face to face with a towering orange demon.

"Hey, Kurama, do you sense any strange or suspicious chakra around?" He asked the fox.

The demon opened one eye lazily and shifted its weight as it laid.

" _ **No, Naruto, I don't sense any chakra around except yours and your girlfriend's."**_ The chakra beast ended with a smile that sowed his large fangs.

The blond hero of the Leaf sighed and walked over to the demon.

"I told you that she's not my girlfriend, Kurama. She doesn't even like me anyway…" His voice low and soft finishing his reply.

The monstrous fox opened both of his eyes fully and rolled them slowly.

" _ **You really are a baka aren't you, kit?"**_

"What does that mean?" The blond demanded.

" _ **I mean that's it's probably that girlfriend of yours watching you. You were changing after all."**_ The demon said simply. This received a confused look from the hero.

"What are you talking about? Why would Sakura-chan watch me change?" Asked the ever dense blond.

The fox let out a long sigh and turned to Naruto.

" _ **You are hopeless, kit."**_

"Whatever, Kurama, I have more important things to do right now then to talk to you about this again. I still feel like I'm being watched. If it's not someone then what could it be?"

The blond left his seal and his mind returned back to his body, opening his eyes. He casually turned and walked around the room, scanning it from floor to ceiling, trying to find the source of whatever was watching him. The hero looked towards the bathroom door that connected to the bedroom, sure enough, just as he told Kurama, Sakura wasn't watching him. He was about to give up on his search as his eye fixed on a collection of seashells hanging on the wall.

Immediately he knew that this was what he was looking for. He made his way closer to it naturally and spied it with his peripherals, from a normal glance it appeared to be a regular collection with seashells that wasn't very interesting to look at. That was what made it a great cover, one wouldn't give it more than a glance. But upon closer inspection the hero could see a small camera lens poking out of one of the shells.

Naruto played it off as naturally as he could, to make sure that whoever was watching didn't know that he saw the camera. The blond walked down from the loft, hearing the water turn on for the shower as he passed. Sakura must've hopped into the shower, Naruto didn't give it a second thought. He made his way around the first floor of their suite and walked around casually, trying his best to seem bored as he secretly looked around for more cameras.

The hero climbed the stairs back up to the loft, hearing the water turn off for the shower. He made his way to the circular king-sized bed at sat down on it. He had found a total of three cameras. One in the bedroom in clear view of the bed, the other two downstairs. One by the piano and the other facing the couches and chairs.

Naruto sat and tried to figure out why there were cameras in the room. Was it because they suspected that they were undercover? Or was that just a coincidence? Were their cameras in every room so that they could watch the couples in their rooms? Why would they do that? Were they there so that they could see the couples in bed, changing and stuff like that? If that were true then surely there was a camera in the bathroom as well-.

' _The bathroom!'_

The thought hit the hero like a truck. Sakura was in the bathroom changing and taking a shower. Some pervert was watching her!

The blond hero was on his feet and at the door leading to the bathroom before he could think. He flung open the door in a second, not a single thought in his mind but making sure that some guy didn't see Sakura naked.

Naruto threw himself into the steam filled bathroom in a flash, in front of him he saw a very surprised and very naked Sakura jump three feet straight in the air, letting out a high pitched yelp. Landing back on the ground the pinkette quickly reached for her towel to cover herself with.

The pink haired medic was about to yell at the hero when she saw the serious and worried look on his face, stopping her from beheading him.

The hero tried his best to look away and cover his slight nosebleed. He turned his head and covered his view of her with his hand.

"My apologies, Hana my dear. I did not mean to peek." Naruto said, playing his role. This caught the attention of the pinkette right away. She was about to say something when he moved his hand that wasn't blocking his view like he was taking with his hands but she recognized the motion immediately, Naruto had given her a brief, discreet hand sign that they were being watched.

"I thought I heard you call out for me, that's why I opened the door without knocking first. I wouldn't of if I hadn't. I am sorry." He said, acting out his character for the cameras. He couldn't really look around the bathroom with Sakura naked in there with him so he had to assume that there was a camera in there as well.

The pinkette blinked for a few times before she caught on, she needed to be playing her role too, they were being watched.

"It is not a problem, Yuuto. I know that you wouldn't do something like that."

The two stood motionless for a few seconds, not knowing what to say before Sakura spoke up.

"Um, Yuuto?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, Hana?"

"Can y-you... can you please leave so that I can change? I'm not wearing any clothes… it's kind of… uncomfortable." The pink haired medic answered. She was having a hard time not falling over, Naruto, the man whom she liked, had just seen her mostly naked from the side. She was blushing so hard her face was a tomato red.

"Oh, sorry, Hana. I didn't mean-. I didn't… I, uh, sorry. I'll be right back, I have to go do something." The hero said as he left the room.

On the other side of the room Naruto tried his best to calm his arousal. He didn't mean for it to happen but his member had shot up straight as a rod when he saw Sakura. Slumped back onto the wall he let out a few calming breaths before he stood back up. Now wasn't the time to relax and think about what happened, he needed to warn the others.

oooOooo

The blond hero of the Leaf knocked on the door and patiently waited for it to be opened. Well, as patiently as he could in the current situation.

The door opened to reveal a platinum blond beauty wearing a very tight and very revealing purple bikini. The blonde medic blushed when she saw the hero visibly shocked when he saw her in a swimsuit. She posed a little in the doorway, leaning forward to reveal even more cleavage, smiling.

Naruto averted his eyes and gave Ino the same discreet hand sign that he gave Sakura and tapped his head, another signal to tell her to use her Mind Jutsu.

"I am sorry for bothering you, Ichika, but Hana sent me over to ask if you wanted to go to the pool with us, but I can clearly see that you were already on your way." The hero was having a hard time concentrating, he had just seen Sakura naked from the side and now Ino was wearing what was basically nothing more than two thin pieces of purple fabric that wrapped her breasts. Her swimsuit left little to nothing to the imagination.

"Don't worry about it, Yuuto." The purple clad blonde said as she leaned even closer to the hero. She had to think a second to make sure that she called him his undercover name. He said that they were being watched, better use their undercover names.

"You know... Touma isn't here right now. He left to go ask about the dinner tonight. You can come in if you like…" She let it hang, hopefully he wouldn't act like himself for once and catch on and come in.

"Sorry, but I can't, Ichika. I have to get back to Hana. We can talk later at the pool if you want." He said as he turned to walk away. Ino quickly reached out and grabbed his arm stopping him.

"You wouldn't really leave me all alone in this big, empty room by myself, would you? Come on, just come inside, I have something I want to show you in the bedroom up in the loft." She almost felt like begging at this point. This was the perfect moment, they were alone and so close to a bedroom. All she had to do was grab his arm, pull him in, close the door and put him under her gen-.

The platinum blonde was pulled from her perverted thoughts when the hero lightly pulled his arm from her grip.

"What are you talking about? You're fine being by yourself, besides, Touma will be back any minute. You won't be lonely then." He said with a smile. A frown crept on the woman's face, how was he this dense, really?

"See you at the pool, Ichika. Later." Said the hero, lightly tapping his head again before he turned and walked away.

After a few seconds and as he was turning a corner the blond hero of the Leaf felt Ino enter his mind and connect it with the others via her Mind Transfer Jutsu.

' _Sorry for the intrusion everyone, but we have a slight problem.'_ Said the platinum blonde in their minds.

' _What slight problem?'_ Asked Shikamaru.

' _I don't know but Naruto told me that we were being watched, so I contacted everyone so we could speak without anyone hearing us.'_

' _Well then, Naruto?'_ The genius asked.

' _I don't know if they're in all of the rooms but I found a total of three cameras hidden in mine and Sakura's room. One in the bedroom in a collection of seashells that was in plain view of the bed and the other two down on the first floor. The first being by the piano and the other hanging on the wall by the large couch by the chairs.'_ The hero told all of them. He heard several thoughts all jumbled at once as the others thought of this.

' _What about the bathrooms? Are cameras in there too? I was about to change in there, I don't want to provided whoever's watching a strip show.'_ Said Temari in their minds.

' _Well I really hope that there isn't any in the bathroom, I just took a shower! I was completely naked!'_ Said a very worried pinkette.

' _I don't know about the bathrooms, I wasn't able to check since Sakura-chan was in there.'_ Naruto admitted.

' _I'll check if there are any, I'm already in here anyways.'_ the pink haired medic said but Shikamaru quickly interjected.

' _Wait, Sakura! Let me check for you.'_ Everyone was confused as to why he was so adamant about it.

' _Why? I'm already in here.'_ Asked the pinkette.

The group heard a mental sigh coming from the Nara heir.

' _Because, whoever is watching right now is more likely to watch a girl in the bathroom then a guy. If you start looking around for a camera then they'll notice. But if I, a guy, goes in then most likely whoever is watching won't even bother watching me.'_ There was silence for a few seconds as everyone thought over what he said, he was right. It was more likely that someone would watch a girl through a secret camera in the bathroom than a guy.

' _Makes sense.'_ The pinkette agreed.

The genius of the Leaf walked into the bathroom in his and Temari's room and looked discreetly around for any cameras.

' _I don't see any in here. I don't see any cameras.'_ He reported.

' _You sure, Shika? Because I don't anyone watching me in the shower.'_ The Sand ninja asked.

' _I'm sure, I checked three times. There are no cameras in the bathrooms.'_ Shikamaru replied.

' _Shikamaru, I am walking in the hallway to the rooms, I can confirm that there are cameras in the halls as well.'_ _Reported the pale ninja._

' _I figured as much. I saw some cameras in the lobby as well when we arrived. I was expecting to run into a few cameras on this mission. Considering where we are, these people who are running this smuggling ring are careful. If they have cameras in the rooms on the ship where we are spending just one night then we have to assume that the rooms on the resort will be under surveillance as well.'_ The lazy genius stated. The group heard him end with his trademark sigh.

' _As of now the mission is still a go. However, as of now we must be even more cautious. We must watch ourselves, making sure that we always act and stay in character because we are under watch. We must consider that at every moment that we are being watched, not just by the cameras in our rooms but others on the ship and resort. We must also watch ourselves in front of the other guests. It is impossible to know who is here for just a regular vacation or who is part of the operation.'_ The group of ninja all thought over what he said. It made sense, they would have to be even more careful now.

' _That also means that as of now, we all must act out our characters twentyfour seven. The only privacy that we have that we know of is in the bathroom. That means that we must act as in love young couples for the remainder of the mission. Or until we are one hundred percent sure that we are not being watched.'_ The others thought that he was going to continue but Shikamaru stopped.

' _Wait, are you saying that we have to…'_ Ino started to ask but trailed off, knowing the answer.

' _Yes, as of now we must act as couples. That means that we must hug, kiss, show affection for our partner and most of all sleep in the same bed for the remainder of the mission.'_ Said the Nara heir simply. This was the only way. This is what they had to do.

oooOooo

(Naruto/Sakura POV)

The blond hero was making his way back to his room after the mental conversation with the others. He for one was a little nervous about having to act in love with Sakura for the entire mission. Now, don't get it wrong, he was more than excited at the idea of sleeping next to and being close to her for a month but he wasn't so sure that he'd be able to take it. Seeing Sakura almost completely naked like that not even fifteen minutes ago nearly gave him a hard attack. Luckily for him he didn't have to worry about things like that. It's not like he was dealing with Ino, Sakura always dressed and acted modestly, he didn't have to worry about anything.

Those thoughts were immediately flipped upside down and thrown aside within three seconds of him entering the room.

Waiting for him as he opened the door was a bent over Sakura, her butt in the air facing him in a _very_ tight swimsuit as she was applying sunscreen to her legs. It took a few seconds but the pinkette noticed the blond hero behind her when he let out an 'ahem'.

Sakura shifted her weight and looked behind her while she continued to apply the sunscreen to her legs, her butt still in the air. She was about to greet her friend but was distracted by the look on his face. His eyes were a large as saucers, his mouth was on the floor and she could see a small line of blood dripping from his nose. It took her a few moments to connect the dots but the pinkette soon realised that she had her butt shoved into his face. She hadn't even thought of that, she was just trying to apply the sunscreen to her legs without sitting down as she would get some on the couch if she did.

The pink haired girl turned a dark shade of pink in a second. Naruto was staring at her butt and getting… flustered? Was he… attracted to her butt? Did he…? The pinkette's thought trailed off and the handsome hero blinked a few times times, coming out of his daze and averted his eyes from her for the second time today.

"S-sorry about that, Hana. I didn't mean to stare. I just, uh… wasn't expecting to see you like that when I opened the door. Sorry." The blond apologized again as he tried to wipe the blood from his nose discreetly.

"It's n-not a problem, Yuuto. It was my fault, really. Besides, it makes me smile when you look at me like that, it proves to me that you love me." The pinkette stood up as she spoke. Her last words caught her off guard, yes she was playing a role but she hadn't meant to say something as truthful as that.

"Well, uh, if you're ready then let's be off to the pool." The hero said, trying to act normally but having a hard time. Sakura's words surprised him for a few seconds before he remembered that she was just acting. It really didn't make her smile when he looked at her that way, why would it?

oooOooo

(Sakura POV)

The two nin arrived at the main pool on the ship after a brief walk through the ship. The sheer size of the vessel they rode on still amazed the pinkette. Never in all of her years of traveling the world had she ever seen a ship of this size. The pink and blond haired teens searched for an empty set of lounge chairs when the medic spotted Shikamaru and Temari not so far away with a set of empty seats next to them. Obviously they had kept them open for her and Naruto.

Sakura lead the way as the blond followed right behind, carrying her bag, towels, change of clothes along with his towel and clothes. She had told him that it would be fine if she carried her own things but he had insisted, saying that it wouldn't be 'polite' or 'chivalrous' if he made her carry her things. The pinkette didn't know that he even knew what chivalrous meant. So now he was trailing behind her, his arms full of her and his things for the pool.

Sakura and Naruto made there way to the empty lounge chairs next to Shikamaru and Temari but before they made a move to sit Naruto figured that he had better act like he didn't know them.

"Excuse me, sir?" He asked Shikamaru who was casually sipping a drink with a small umbrella in it. Said Nara lowered his sunglasses and turned to face the blond as he leaned back in his seat under a large umbrella.

"Yeah, can I help- oh hey! It's you, the guy who almost got in a fight back on the dock. How's it goin', man? What's up?" Asked the Nara heir. Both the blond and pinkette were immediately taken back by his total attitude change. He wasn't acting anything like he usually did. It was kinda… weird.

"Ah it's going good. Thanks again for breaking up the fight, if you weren't there then I don't know what would've happened." Naruto said truthfully. The pink haired medic was surprised at how well Naruto was able to act out his character and talk to Shikamaru like that. It had completely thrown her off.

"Nah, don't mention it, man. It was nothin'. I just didn't want you to get kicked off the cruise before it even started, ya know?" Replied the genius.

"Hey, you wouldn't mind if my girlfriend and I sat here, would you?" Asked the blond as he motioned to the seats a few feet away that were obviously saved for them but he had to ask and act like they had never talked before.

The usually stiff and formal Shikamaru let out a loud yawn as he stretched back and slid down in his reclining seat even more. He downed his drink and gestured that they could have the seat without a word. He then gestured to the blonde lying next to him in the shade.

"This is my wife, Yui Hamamoto, I'm Riku Hamamoto, we'd be happy if you'd sit next to us. It'd give us someone to talk to." Shikamaru held out his hand to Naruto who shook it firmly.

"Nice to meet you two. I'm Yuuto and this is my girlfriend, Hana. This is our first time to this resort."

"Same here, man." Shikamaru added.

"Nice to meet you, Hana." The blonde of the Sand nodded her head to the pinkette.

The four ninja sat and talked casually for awhile, enjoying the sun and the breeze. Before long a server came over and asked if they wanted drinks. The two Leaf ninja, Shikamaru exclude who said he was fine, ordered non-alcoholic drinks as they were underage and were surprised when Temari asked for a regular pina colada.

"What?" She asked after the server left to get their orders when she saw the looks on her friend's faces.

"I _am_ old enough to drink if you haven't noticed. Besides, I'm pretty sure that no one here is going to check our I.D. to see if we're old enough to drink. Look around us, everyone is drinking. People around here don't care."

"True. But I've never drank before, I'm not sure if I should start now." The pinkette said.

"Oh learn to live already, Hana." Said Shikamaru as he placed his arms behind his head. "I've had like five drinks already and I'm fine. It won't kill you."

The pinkette raised a brow at this, she didn't know that Shikamaru drank alcohol.

Their drinks came and the four sat for awhile until Ino and Sai made their way over from their spot that they had been sitting at when the other couple on the other side of Naruto and Sakura had left. The platinum blonde made sure to take the lounge chair closer to the hero before Sai could.

"Hey Yuuto, Hana, it's great to see you. We've been looking for you guys everywhere." Ino said overly excited.

Hey, Ichika, Touma, how are you?" Asked Naruto with a smile. The pinkette couldn't help but notice that her rival moved her lounge chair closer to Naruto. She knew that she had to keep her eye on her, she was well aware of her plan to get Naruto to fall for her.

Temari made her way off her seat and laid a towel down on the deck and spread it out. She grabbed her bag and after rummaging through it for a few seconds pulled out a bottle of suntan lotion. She applied the lotion in silence and the pinkette had only one thought as she watched her; Temari lived in the desert, why did she care about having a tan? She was surrounded by sun everyday, surely she would naturally have a tan by now.

Temari sunbathed for a while as Shikamaru and Sakura remained in the shade as Ino, Sai and Naruto swam in the pool. The pink haired girl couldn't help but watch her two friend's in the pool, Ino was making every excuse to get close to Naruto and show off her massive cleavage. Completely forgetting that she was supposed to be acting like she was dating Sai. The pinkette was about to get up and storm over there and drag her Naruto away from that perverted pig when Naruto started making his way back to her with Ino and Sai on his heels.

Sakura was leaning all the way back in her chair as Naruto approached. She saw the water drip off of him as it glistened in the sun. Before she knew it she was staring at him like she was the pervert.

Naruto grabbed the towel off of his seat and instead of throwing it over his shoulders he used it to dry off his face and hair and sat next to her like that, his bare, muscular chest shining from the water. He quickly stood up again and stepped a few feet to the side to fix the large standing umbrella when he bumped someone with his back.

"Watch it, you assh-, you!" Sakura recognized the snotty and rude voice immediately. She'd remember that voice anywhere, it was the man who grabbed her butt then slapped her.

She turned in her seat to see the same man in Naruto's face, his nose four inches from Naruto's. The man shoved a finger at his chest.

"Get out of my fucking face you bastard before I kick your ass!" Naruto had a blank, uninterested look on his face and replied to the yelling man.

"Huh? Oh, it's you again… sorry, man, it was an accident. I-" But Naruto was cut off when the man attempted to push him back with his hands but Naruto didn't budge an inch. The man wore an angry expression over the apparent fact that he couldn't budge Naruto.

"Sorry my ass! You're gonna be sorry once I kick your ass again!" Yelled the man. Some of the nearby guests heard the commotion and watched, mostly bored and uninterested looks on their faces.

"Again?" The blond hero asked, confused. "You didn't kick my ass the first time though… what are you talking about? I kinda kicked y-"

The snobby man jabbed yet another finger into Naruto's bare chest and narrowed his gaze at him.

"I don't like your attitude! Do you have an idea who you're talking to? I could buy and sell your ass with the spare change in my pocket!" Sakura watched as Naruto gave another confused expression.

"Huh? Buy and sell me? What are you talking about?" The pinkette saw Shikamaru put down yet another drink and slowly begin to get up without the two guys seeing him.

The tension between the two men was momentarily interrupted when a bikini clad woman walked over and clung on to the other guy's arm.

"Hey, babe what are you doing? You're supposed to be spending time with me, not with…" The woman paused as she looked Naruto up and down as she peered over her sunglasses. Her voice softened and changed noticeably.

"Him." She finished. The pinkette could see how she was looking at Naruto as plain as day. She had the hots for him! How dare she! The woman just looked at him for a few seconds silently before she bite her lower lip and stepped towards the blond.

The pink haired medic was about to punch the woman into next week when she leaned into his muscular arm, sliding it as best she could between her sizeable breasts and used her painted nail to trace his chest slowly.

The blond hero tensed up immediately and attempted to step back but the large breasted woman held on.

"Hey there, handsome. You must be the one who punched Shou earlier, nice one." She whispered the last part so that Shou couldn't hear her but Sakura and Naruto sure did. Lowering her voice a little more she opened the bag hanging on her arm with one hand and brought out a small bottle.

"What do you say to helping me with my sun tan lotion?" She pressed her large chest into Naruto which received another uncomfortable look from the hero who was shooting a look to Sakura that read 'help me!'.

"I'd love to have a man like you rub his hands all-" She was cut off when the pinkette had enough and got in her face.

"Excuse me, but what the hell do you think you're doing to him?" Demanded an angry Sakura.

The light blonde bikini wearing woman turned her head to look at her without removing her hand from Naruto's bare chest. The young woman looked Sakura up and down over her sunglasses, seemingly unimpressed.

"And you are?" She asked rudely.

The pinkette moved an inch closer and raised her intensity a bit.

"I'm his girlfriend, who're you?" Sakura demanded.

The light blonde shifted her weight to one leg and practically thrust her butt to one side, trying to get it as close to Naruto as she could.

" _You're_ his girlfriend?" The woman asked doubtingly. "I was sure that _she_ was his girlfriend." She said, pointing her thumb in Ino's direction.

"She _was_ all over him in the pool… Do you just share him with her? Or did you just not notice?"

This bitch was really beginning to piss Sakura off. How dare she say something like that? Yes, her and Naruto were only pretending to be a couple for the mission but she wasn't oblivious to every woman who threw herself at him. Unlike said blond. Sakura knew how other girls looked at him, and it pissed her off. This girl better watch her mouth, because Sakura was getting close to slapping this chick herself.

"So tell, me, handsome, why are you with… _this_ , anyway?" The bitch asked as she motioned to Sakura before trying to get closer to him again but was met with the same cold shoulder he'd been giving her this whole time.

"Huh, wha-?" Naruto began to ask before he was cut off by a reddening pinkette.

"What did you say!?" Demanded Sakura. The other woman tilted her head slightly and glared at the pinkette.

"Ya heard me, bitch."

' _On hell no!'_ Yelled the pinkette in her mind.

"Who do you think you are? Yuuto's mine, not yours! So get your chest and hands off of him!" The bikini lady scoffed and gave Sakura the look that she wasn't impressed.

"I don't see a ring on his finger, that makes him fair game." She got in the pinkette's face. "If you're not up for a little competition then that's not my fault. Besides… you should give up on him, he's clearly out of _your_ league, you ugly b-."

"Fwwaapp!" A slap was heard across the entire ship. A pissed off Sakura looked to her hand in anger as a large, firm hand held hers in place. Naruto caught her hand, he stopped her before she slapped this chick! What was he thinking?!

"N-, Yuuto? What are you doing?" She demanded. She barely managed to not say his real name.

"I'm making sure that you don't do anything stupid, Hana. Sorry." The blond hero of the Leaf said in a clam, steady voice. He knew that if Sakura slapped this girl then her boyfriend would step in again and he would have to intervene. And as much as he wanted to, Naruto knew that hurting them wouldn't solve anything. It never did.

Her petite hand still in his, the blond lowered their hands and placed them down by their sides.

"Let's just forget about them, Hana. They aren't worth our time." Said the village hero.

"Don't say that, handsome, I'm sure that I would make it worth your time…" Said the woman who Sakura was now addressing as 'that bitch'.

Said pinkette had had it up to here with this girl, she was purposely grinding her nevers. She wanted Sakura to do something about it. And oh, was she really wanting to do something about it.

"But I-" The pink haired ninja started but was interrupted by the man called 'Shou' as he stepped in and tried to shove Naruto again but once again said blond didn't budge an inch. .

"Hey, asshole! Stop flirting with my girlfriend! You must want me to kick your ass, don't you?" Demanded Shou. The blond hero stepped in between Sakura and Shou again in a protective manner. Sakura would've blushed if it weren't for the circumstances.

"What is with you and wanting to kick my ass? I don't want a fight, man, really I don't." Naruto spoke calmly and used all his willpower to not clock the man in front of him.

"And I'm guessing that you don't want to, either. Us fighting won't solve anything, believe me, it never does. And back to what you said about your girlfriend, weren't you paying attention? I didn't say a single thing to her, _she_ did all the flirting." The angry man known as Shou got red in the face with anger. He stepped closer to Naruto and jabbed another finger into his bare chest.

"What the hell did you say, bastard! My Niwa wasn't flirting with you! She's never flirted with another man besides me in her life!" Shou lightly hugged his girlfriend and she gave him her best innocent look. Making her eyes seem bigger and pouted a little. It was clear to the pinkette that she did this often. She had him wrapped around her little finger.

"Well I don't flirt at all, man. Believe me, I wouldn't do that sort of thing." Sakura could tell that Naruto was using every trick in his book to calm this man down and avoid a fight but it seemed to be a lost cause with this guy. A part of her wanted them to fight again, as Naruto would wipe the floor with him in an instant while still holding back. Way back. Sakura figured that if he got his ass handed to him enough times by Naruto then he would leave them alone for good.

"What are you talking about?" Shou demanded. "I just saw you flirting with _my_ woman! You had her all over you!" Said blond hero sweat dropped, how was this guy so oblivious that his girlfriend was the one who was flirting?

"When will you get it through your thick skull? Yuuto didn't flirt with her! He didn't even say anything!" The pinkette was back to yelling again.

"Shut up, woman! Can't you see that the men are talking? Learn your place!" Demanded Shou as he turned his gaze back to Naruto.

That right there was the tipping point for the pinkette. He had the nerve to talk to her like that? Who in the hell did he think he was?

"My place?!" She demanded. She wore a furious expression that stopped both Naruto and Shikamaru in their tracks as they watched this unfold. This man didn't know who he was talking to. He was screwed.

"Chaaaa!" Screamed the small pinkette as her fist made contact with the man known as Shou with a satisfying 'snap' as the medic in her noted that she had fractured at least one of his ribs, maybe two. She really didn't care.

The tall man flew back a dozen feet and slid on the deck of the ship until he hit another set of chairs. The furious pinkette had her first still raised to the man in a challenging manner as he dizzily looked at her from his place on the ground. His slutty girlfriend let out a high pitched scream se she ran to him and kneeled besides him, trying to help him up.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Temari, Ino, Sai and all of the other guests in the area all stared in wonder after seeing a largish man get punched back a dozen feet by a girl half his size. Needless to say that the entire pool went silent. Every eye was on the undercover group of nin. And that was something that they didn't need nor want.

"We need to get out of here, everyone. The entire ship is watching us." The lazy Nara whispered low so that no one else could hear. Temari and Ino began packing their bags and Sai Shikamaru stepped in front of Sakura and Naruto so that they didn't do anything.

"Come on, we _need_ to go". Shikamaru said as he ushered the two members of team seven out of there as soon as possible.

oooOooo

 **(About fifteen minutes later in Shikamaru and Temari's room)**

(Shikamaru and Temari POV)

"Can you believe those two? How imature could they be? I mean, are they _trying_ to get us kicked off the ship and reveal that we're ninjas to the entire ship?" A furios Shikamaru let out as soon as the door closed behind him to his room. Temari heard this and was immediately sent onto a worry.

"What are you doing, Shika?" She asked in a hushed voice and she got an inch away from him. "You're not helping us stay under cover when you announce to the cameras that were undercover, you idiot!" She lectured in a whispered voice.

A confused look went over the previously reddened face of the Nara heir who let out a 'huh?' This of course received an upset response from his girlfriend who responded in a low voice.

"What do you mean, 'huh?' There are three cameras in this room and you just admitted to them that we are undercover." Temari was wondering how he was being so absent minded, he rarely if ever made mistakes like this. He could've just cost them the entire mission. Didn't he realize that?

"What are you talking about, Tem? What do the cameras have anything to do with what I said?" He asked simply. She dropped her jaw and stared at him, was he serious?

"Are you serious, Shika? You said it yourself that we had to act in front of them and now you're acting like they're not a big deal." He gave her a confused look before she saw what must've been a lightbulb go off in his head.

"The cameras are a big deal, we do have to act in front of them. You're right about that." He confirmed. She gave him a 'I told you so' look and he continued. "But we don't have to worry about what we say in front of them, Tem." She gave him a confused look back.

"What I mean is this, we have all found three cameras in our rooms but not a single microphone in any of them. I am certain that while our rooms are under surveillance, they are only under _video_ surveillance and not _audio_ surveillance."

"So what are you saying? That we are free to talk normally in front of the cameras but we have to still act in front of them?" She asked. He only nodded his head in reply.

"Then why didn't you say that earlier, Shika? I've been calling you Riku all day! I've been making sure that I watched what I said to make sure that I didn't let anything slip as we talked as we got ready for the pool. Why are you just telling me this now?" She demanded.

"Well, I figured that everyone knew that… I thought that it was obvious. I was wondering why you kept calling me Riku when we were alone earlier." He said casually as the Sand ninja was fighting the urge to smack him.

"You can't just assume things like that, Shika. You know that. No one else realized this, everyone is thinking that they have to watch what they say and stay in character for the whole trip. What were you thinking?" She asked, finishing calmer than when she started. She and he made their way up to the loft to their bedroom and she slumped on the large circular bed as he rummaged through his bags for regular clothes to wear.

"Sorry… I uh, wasn't thinking straight. I know now that I shouldn't have just assumed that you all knew, including Naruto. Sorry, Tem, I was just distracted and didn't think about it." He replied softly as he slipped a fresh t-shirt over his head.

"It's fine, Shika. Just one question though, what could've possible been so distracting that it made you of all people miss somethings so obvious?" She asked as she laid back on the soft covers of the bed and watched him, waiting for an answer.

It took a few seconds by the Nara heir sighed and broke his silence. He turned around to look at Temari and motioned to the bikini-clad woman lying on the bed.

"This." Was his whole answer. Needless to say that it didn't provide the blonde with the answer she was looking for.

"This what?" She asked, confused to as why he would motion to her on the bed and say 'this'. That didn't make at sense.

The genius let out a sigh and continued. "You Tem, you were the distraction." Said the black haired shinobi simply.

"Huh?" Another sigh was heard by Temari followed by a 'troublesome' under his breath.

"You're in a bikini, Tem. Laying sprawled out on the bed with no worry about covering yourself." He said the last part quieter than the beginning.

""What are you talking about? So what if I'm laying on the bed, I've been laying out on the beach chair at the pool all day. So what? And what are you talking about covering myself?" She asked as she leaned in towards him that made him turn his gaze from her again.

"Look down to your chest, Tem." Was all he said. She raised a brow but decided to humor him, what could've been so important that made him not answer her question directly?

Temari turned her view down to spy her chest, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary besides that fact that she was wearing a bikini. Was that the reason why he was acting like this?

"I give, what am I looking for? I don't see anything." Admitted the confused Sand shinobi.

"Check your… left… uh, left uh…" He trailed off and was starting to turn a shade of pink that Temari couldn't help but notice.

"My left what, Shika?" She asked, knowing what he was referring to but curious as to why he wasn't saying it and also still curious as to why he told her to check them, they seemed fine to her.

"Your left… one." He tried but it wasn't good enough in her mind.

"My left one what?" She asked as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Your left… on your chest… your, uh left breast." He finally managed to force out.

"Breast?" She asked while trying to hold back a laugh. "Only my grandma still calls them 'breasts'. Call they what they are, Shika." She was having so much fun messing with him that she kinda forgot that he was trying to tell her something.

The Nara heir only turned a shade darker and blushed a bit. He was clearly having trouble talking about this, and that was why Temari was still talking about it. She loved to mess with him.

"... And that would be?" He dared to ask, his head still turned to look at the wall that was beginning to look very interesting.

"A boob, Shika. A boob. It's a boob. Call it a boob." She said simply.

The lazy genius looked like he was going to fall over, he was struggling to keep it together.

"I prefer not to call it that… I uh, would rather call-" He started but was interrupted by a blonde who was beginning to get annoyed.

"Well it's mine and I want you to call it a boob. We won't finish this conversation until you call it that. I'm prepared to sit here all day until dinner if we must. You've been doing this all day, it took me twenty minutes to get you to say 'bikini'. I mean, what's the problem? Whenever I even mention anything about my body or a swim suit or my underwear which you wouldn't call and still won't call 'panties' or anything you freeze up like this and get all weird. What is going on?" She asked, calming down a little as she got most of her anger out raising her voice.

The Nara heir stood in silence for a few seconds until he casually turned his head back to Temari which immediately made him turn away again.

"Fine, Tem, I'll say it. Check your left… boob." He managed to say.

She smiled and gave him a playful grin, letting him know that she was just messing with him and to not take it so seriously.

"Thank you. See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She asked as she looked down to her chest again. Not seeing anything she gave him a confused look

"What about my boob, I don't see anything, Shika."

"Check the left side." He said again as he looked away. Seriously, what was his problem? Temari couldn't figure it out.

The Sand kunoichi looked back down for the third time at her bikini-clad breasts and inspected the left side as he told her to do and when she stretched her neck and turned it in her hand she saw what he had been talking about this whole time. So this must be why he's been avoiding looking at her!

"Why didn't you tell me that my nipple was showing? I was walking around dozens of people and you didn't say anything? What the hell, Shika?" She demanded. It took a brief second but the blonde blushed when it hit her, she'd been practically showing it off to him this whole time and she didn't even think about it. No wonder he was acting all weird. She quickly fixed her bikini and inspected it carefully to make sure that she was covered.

The lazy Nara held up his arms in defense. "Hold on, Tem, don't worry, it wasn't showing at the pool. Just when we got back and you plopped on the bed like that. It was also showing a bit before we left to go to the pool before you fixed it." He was trying to explain himself, it wasn't like he just let her walk around like that in public, he would've said something if that happened for sure.

She was going to say something about how long it took him to tell her but decided to drop it and go back to messing with him. She loved messing with him too much.

"So, how long were you staring before you said anything, huh? You get a good look in?" She asked playfully.

"Tem!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't like it when I talk like that, I get it. You're not like that, I heard you the first time."

"Exactly, I'm not like that at all. I wouldn't just look at you when you're like that, Tem."

"And why not?" She asked, still having fun seeing him blush whenever she said anything even slightly like that.

"Because I have a hard enough time looking at you in that swi-, bikini, as it is. So believe me when I say that I wouldn't just stare like that." He replied honestly. He was quickly learning that being Temari's boyfriend was bad for his heart, not in the sense that he was worried about her breaking his, but bad as in she had been making his heart rate go crazy since the mission began. He had trouble being calm when he saw her get up this morning, they had shared a bed and she had snuggled up against him before falling asleep. When he woke up she was practically on top of him, their legs were a jumble of limbs and she had her hand on his lower stomach on the rim of his shorts. He nearly had a heart attack from that alone and now he had seen her like that twice today. The Nara heir was wondering if she would give him an actual heart attack by the end of the mission.

Temari smiled and got up off the bed. "You know that you're one of a kind, right?" She said sweetly as she hugged him briefly from the side before reaching for her bag and a change of clothes.

"What do you mean?" Asked a confused genius.

"I mean that an other guy would just stare at me like I was a slab of meat. You're the only guy except for a small few that has ever looked at me the way you do."

He raised a brow to tell her to continue explaining.

"I mean that you're the one of the only guys that looks at me with respect. Don't get me wrong, guys aren't just looking at me with perverted eyes all day long but either they just don't look at me in fear of having to face the wrath of my father when he was alive or my brothers. If they do look at me then it's always behind my back. And always with dirty thoughts…" She trailed off and was shaken from her memories when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind.

Shikamaru was hugging her before either of them knew it. They stood and he held her for a minute before letting go, she turned around to hug him from the front and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Shika. I needed that."

"I know, Tem. Now… go on and change already, I was being serious earlier about not being comfortable with you being in that swimsuit." She answered with eyes closed and head still on his shoulder.

"Bikini." She corrected.

"Whatever. Just change already, please?" He sounded like he was almost begging. She sighed and stepped back from him and grabbed her change of clothes and looked back to him.

"If you're so worried about me doing it as fast as possible then why don't I change right here?" She said while trying to hold back a laugh. She even reached back and pretended to start untying her bikini strap to mess with him more.

"Tem!" Shikamaru let out a high pitched version of his usual monotone voice and covered his eyes as he turned the other direction. The blonde couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing she stopped messing with the straps and walked besides him and kissed his cheek for good measure before saying that he was 'too easy' and heading into the bathroom to change.

Shikamaru froze in place, she just kissed him! Yes they had already kissed before at the inn, a few times actually but still. It was the first time that she kissed his cheek. The Nara heir stood there for a few seconds before finally letting out a long breath of air. Finally allowing oxygen to reach his brain again so that he could think.

"I was right." He said to himself as he made his way to the bed to sit and wait for her to change. "That woman is going to be the death of me. So t-" He stopped mid sentence, stopping from saying his catchphrase. She wasn't it at all so he couldn't call her that. Yes she drove him crazy and he wouldn't doubt that she was trying to give him a literal heart attack but, he just couldn't bring himself to say it. He had used that word his entire life to describe things that he didn't like, couldn't stand, hated, and couldn't bother to care about. She was the opposite of all those things, the was…

"Perfect."

oooOooo

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Author's Note: Thanks for reading, please let me know how you liked this chapter and sorry again for the very late update. Please **Review** , **Follow** and **Favorite**. Also tell me if you think I should change my uploading schedule to every other week from now on so that I can write longer chapters and more importantly write them better.

Thanks, Hephaestus out, until next time!


	15. Ch15:Heart To Hearts, Breakdown & A Slap

Chapter 15: Heart To Hearts, A Breakdown and A Slap

(Author's Note: )

Thanks for reading. Sorry this chapter is going up a day late, I'm getting ready to move in like a week and a half and got busy this week. Sorry. Please let me know what you guys think with a **Review**. I tried to solve some of the Ino/Naruto stuff this chapter, let me know what you think about it and if it works.

Until next week this has been Hephaestus.

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Chapter 15: Heart To Hearts, A Breakdown and A Slap

 **(Later that evening with Naruto and Sakura)**

 **(Sakura POV)**

After the incident with the man named Shou and his bitch of a girlfriend named Niwa, Shikamaru sent Naruto and Sakura back to their room to cool off. The pinkette thought that she was being treated like a child when he told her that. Like she was being sent to her room by her mom or dad. It was good for her however, that she was able to cool off and calm down a bit after everything that happened. When she first got back to the room she wanted to punch something so bad it drove her crazy. She wanted to go back there and pound those two into the floor. And if it weren't for her blond roommate she would've. Naruto did an amazing job in calming her down, he mostly let her get all her anger out by shouting at him. She wasn't really at him, not really, she was more of shouting _to_ him, getting all of her anger out without killings anyone.

After a while the pair received a mental message from Shikamaru via Ino's Mind Control Jutsu, telling them that he confirmed that there were no microphones in the rooms, only cameras. So that they could speak freely to each other while in their rooms but that they still had to act in front of the cameras. He also told them to watch themselves in public and to make sure that they acted like couples twentyfour seven. This was of course directed to Ino because of how she was all over Naruto at the pool. Niwa had noticed and Shikamaru warned them that if she noticed then the other guests were sure to notice too.

Currently the pink haired medic was in the bathroom getting ready for dinner. She had been sent several sets of clothing specific for each situation she would be in. She would still marvel at the assorted wardrobe each time she opened her luggage. She had been sent several dresses of different lengths and variations, from one being a flowing ball gown to others being normal length to another few being short that cut off just above the knee. While none of these dresses were something that she would wear on a day to day basis, the pinkette couldn't help but hope that she would be able to keep all of the clothes that she had been sent for the mission. After spending most of the time after the war training new medics at the hospital and traveling to foreign villages to teach their medics, Sakura had had very little time to just hang out and relax. She hadn't been out at any of the villages dances for holidays or the such either, preferring to spend the time working and mastering her chakra control. She also hadn't been on a date since her brief time dating when Naruto was gone on his two and a half year training trip with Jiraiya-sama. The pinkette had been told by a few of the other nurses that one of the male medics her age had a crush on her and that she should date him. It took a few weeks of prodding but Sakura finally accepted his request for a date. They only dated for a few months and in that time nothing really happened, they never got close and it wasn't long before he dumped her because he felt like he was wasting his time dating someone who didn't even like him. She couldn't disagree with what he said, she never felt anything towards him and it showed. Looking back on it, Sakura remembered that he would always try to get close and act like a boyfriend but she never let him. Whenever he tried to hug her, put his arm around her or anything she would stop him or make up an excuse as to why he couldn't. The last straw was when he tried to kiss her and she punched him. Hard. she didn't really mean, it just happened. In the end she ended up breaking one of his ribs. Needless to say they broke up and never spoke again outside of work where they were required to at least talk to each other when it came to their work.

The pinkette remembered that she never really knew why she was so opposed to dating him, he was a nice guy, he never tried anything on her or was rude or anything, the problem was her. She just didn't want to be with him. At the time she chalked it up to still being in love to Sasuke for being the reason why she never let any male into her life like that. But now, now she was beginning to see that the real reason why she never dated anyone besides that one guy was because of a certain blond hero. Now whenever the thought of dating another guy popped into her head the pinkette couldn't stomach it, she couldn't see herself with anyone but him. However, even though she wished to be with the village savior she was convinced that he didn't like her in return. Or if he did at one point then he would've lost his feelings for her long ago. Sakura didn't know how to feel, she wanted to be with Naruto but was sure that he didn't like her, and sure that he deserved someone better than her. A part of her wanted to be able to forget her growing feelings for him at be able to let someone better than her to become his girlfriend and later wife. He was going to be Hokage once he finished training and Kakashi-sensei stepped down, surely the future Hokage needed someone from a prestigious family and clan to be his wife. Political marriages were still all too real in this day and age. Sakura wouldn't doubt it if in the future Naruto would be forced to marry some head of state, Kage or princess of another land to promote peace between the ninja world. Something like that had almost happened a few months after the war when Mei, the Mizukage, sent several of her high ranking jounin and ANBU to abduct Naruto and force him to marry her when he was traveling the various villages to promote peace. When Kakashi and the Leaf village heard this they were not exactly happy, their hero had been taken and was in the process of being forced to marry to 'promote peace between villages' in the words of Mei. Sakura knew at the time that her words were bull, Mei only wanted Naruto as a husband because she was obsessed with finding and marrying a strong shinobi. Sakura had heard that the Leaf's council had planned on accepting the deal when Naruto had had enough of being a prisoner and broke free and returned to the village. So Sakura wouldn't doubt if something like that would happen again. In her mind it didn't matter how much she loved him, she would most likely never be able to be with him.

Having thoughts of her blond crush brought the pinkette back to what she had been doing, getting ready for dinner which was going to be followed by a dance. Sakura had been dreading the dance for hours now, not because she didn't want to dance with Naruto, far from it, she was just really nervous about being that close to him. She had gone over all of her dresses that she was provided and chose the least revealing one she had. It wasn't because she didn't want to look appealing in front of Naruto but because she was conscious of how she looked in them. Ever since that bitch Niwa insulted her and called her ugly the pinkette had been really super self conscious, even more than normal. Sakura worried that what Niwa said was right, that she wasn't attractive. She knew that she was way out of Naruto's league based off looks by far, that much was obvious. And knowing that didn't help the pinkette when it came to getting ready for her dinner and dance with Naruto.

Sakura took a step back to look back at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a beautiful white dress that went past her knees by a few inches. The dress was simple but she liked it very much. It was tailored to her size so it fit perfectly, clinging to her and showing off her curves that she wished looked better. On her feet she wore some simple heels that matched the dress. She was sure that every other girl at the dinner would be wearing an expensive dress like her but the difference between her and them was that they could pull it off-.

He pinkette was shook from her depressed thoughts at the sound of knocking at the bathroom door, it was Naruto calling for her.

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan are you alright? You've been in there for over an hour. Are you done getting ready? We need to be leaving soon." He asked from behind the door. The pink haired medic looked back into the mirror and frowned at what she saw.

"I'm fine, Naruto." She answered back.

"Well are you done getting ready? We need to leave in twenty minutes." Asked the hero.

"No, I… I think I'm going to change dresses, I don't like how this one fits. It's too tight." She said softly before adding; ' _Because it shows that I have no curves.'_ silently in her head.

"But you've already changed four times Sakura-chan, you're running out of dresses and we're running out of time."

"I told you that I changed because I didn't like how they looked, Naruto." She was debating changing into yet another dress, hopefully she would be comfortable wearing the next one.

"And I told you that it didn't matter what you wore, you looked good in any f the dresses you showed me." He replied quickly. The pinkette wanted to blush a little but fought it.

"You're only saying that to be nice. You just want me to hurry up." Said the medic, it sounded a bit more rude than she wanted not to sound but she didn't say anything about it.

"No, I said that because you showed me the dressed that you were going to try on beforehand and I thought that you would look good in them. Sakura-chan, I wouldn't lie to you like that, now, come on out of there. We need to be going. We don't want to be the last ones there."

"Yeah but-" She started but was interrupted by Naruto.

"No buts, Sakura-chan. Are you decent?" Asked the blond hero. This confused the pinkette a little.

"What?" She asked.

"Are you dressed? Like completely dressed?"

"Yeah… why?"

"Then I'm coming in." He said boldly. She heard the doorknob being gripped.

"What? No! You can't come in, wait, Naruto, don't!" She almost yelled.

"Why? Why can to come in?" Asked the voice from behind the door.

Sakura didn't answer, she didn't want to say. She didn't want to tell him why she had now worn five different dresses and didn't want to wear one of them. She just couldn't say it, she couldn't.

"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?" He asked in a kind voice.

"...Yeah… I'm okay."

"Were you really not dressed? Is that why you freaked out?"

"No, I am dressed. I'm ready to go…"

"Then why don't you come out here? We can go."

"Because…"

"Because why?" He asked. Sakura could hear that he was concerned and that he has been concerned for awhile. He must be worried that something was wrong because she had been in there for the past few hours in total. She only left the bathroom to put a dress back in her bag and go right back in to change into another one. Half of the afternoon was spent waiting for her to get ready.

She didn't answer so he spoke again;

"Sakura-chan, is something wrong? Do you need some space? Because I can go if you want-" This time it was her who cut him off.

"No. Wait, don't… don't leave. You don't have to." She fixed her eyes on her fifth dress of the night and was about to begin taking not off the just change back to her regular clothes and spend the night in the room when Naruto's hand went back to the doorknob, freezing her in her tracks.

"I know that I already asked but are you decent?" His voice was kind and soft, concern clear in his voice. Gone was his usual brash and loud voice that he usually sported, right now he seemed like a different person to the pinkette.

"Yeah, I still am. Why?"

"...Because I want to see you." Was his reply after a few seconds of silence, it surprised Sakura.

"Why?" She was hesitant to ask for some reason.

"You're worried that you don't look good in the dress, right?" He asked, not answering the question. She wondered how he had hit the nail right on the head like that. This was Naruto, he usually wasn't good about reading into these kinds of things. She wanted to deny it and say that he was being ridiculous but she couldn't get the words out.

"That's it, isn't it? That's why you've been in there for hours getting ready, because you think that you don't look good in the dress." It wasn't a question or a theory, he knew. He _knew_. Somehow Naruto had figured it out. The reason why she didn't want to come out of the bathroom was because she didn't want him to see her in the dress. She didn't think that he'd think she'd look good in it.

"...Yeah…" Was all she could say. The pinkette lowered her eyes from the mirror, the dress wasn't bad but she just didn't want anyone, let alone her crush to see her in it.

"I'm coming in, Sakura-chan." Before she was able to say anything and stop him the door opened and a tall, handsome blond in a suit and tie stepped into the bathroom and stopped a few feet from her, saying nothing he fixed his gaze on he. Sakura felt like crying, he wasn't saying anything, she was right, he didn't like her in the dress.

"Naruto I-"

"Why didn't you like the dress?" He asked softly.

"I… like the dress fine. It's just, that I don't like… how I… look in it." She replied even softer, now she really wanted to cry, why was she feeling like this? She shouldn't be this worried about Naruto liking her in the dress. It wasn't the dress though, she was worried that he didn't like her because she was unattractive.

"Why?" Asked the hero.

"Because I don't look good in it. I'm ugly, Naruto. Niwa said-" Sakura was startled when naruto cut her off suddenly with a firm hug. She felt him trying his best to not squeeze her too hard. He followed by leaning down and placing his chin on her shoulder, whispering into her ear.

"Who cares what Niwa or anyone else said. Their opinions don't matter. Only one should ever matter to you, yours. And if you happen to want mine then I think that you're beautiful." He spoke softly and continued his hug when he was finished.

Sakura's eyes widened and she stiffened. What did he just say? Did he just call her beautiful?

"What?" She managed to squeak out.

"You heard me, Sakura-chan, I think you're beautiful." He let go and pulled back and stood in front of her again. "You look beautiful in that dress. I could barely believe it when I first walked in. What were you so worried about, you look amazing."

The pinkette couldn't help it anymore, she started crying. She was reassured by her blond teammate egain when he gave her another hug.

"Why are you crying, Sakura-chan?" He asked into her pink hair.

"I don't know." She said simply. She really didn't know why she was worrying so much about this. Was she really this worried about how Naruto saw her?

"Well you might want to stop, Sakura-chan, you're ruining your makeup. You look like a depressed clown." She couldn't help it, she let out a slight chuckle from the randomness of what he just said. This was Naruto alright, he wasn't known as the number one most unpredictable ninja for nothing.

"No I don't." She said, still in his strong arms.

"Yeah you do." He said quickly.

"You know you're not really helping? You're ruining your kind moment." She said in a joking manner.

"I would be to differ."

"Oh and why would that be?" She asked. She wasn't answered for a second when Naruto let go and stepped back again, showing her a big Naruto smile.

"Because I got you to smile, Sakura-chan. So i think that it worked." He said matter of factly.

Sakura paused for a moment, was she really smiling and laughing? How? She was just crying not a few seconds ago. And before that she was on the verge of tears over something as simple as Naruto liking her dress. How did he do it? How did Naruto get her to forget all of her doubt and worry in a second and get her to smile?

She knew that she couldn't explain it, this was just something that he could do. It was his special power. Something about Naruto made people want to be around him. He had the uncanny ability to make anyone a friend. But most of all he was able to make people happy and feel good about themselves.

The pinkette smiled again and looked at herself in the mirror, Naruto was right, her massive amounts of makeup she had but on to try to make herself pretty was starting to wash off from her tears. She looked terrible.

"Come on, Sakura-chan, redo your makeup and let's go have some fun. And if that Niwa lady or anyone says anything about you looking ugly then let me know, I'll use the Hidden Leaf Secret Figure Jutsu on them." Said a chuckling blond as he put his hands in the Tiger hand sign for effect.

The pinkette paused, what did he say?

"You mean Kakashi-sensei's dumb 'secret move' in which he just rams his fingers up his opponents-?"

"Well yeah. These are regular people, Sakura-chan, I don't want to accidentally kill any of them." She gave him a look and let out a sigh.

"Uh… thanks? I guess. Now, give me a minute to fix my makeup and we'll go.

oooOooo

 **(A few minutes later)**

 **(Sakura POV)**

The pinkette walked into the dining hall with her arm looped around Naruto's. When she first did it back in their room she saw that he got a little nervous and uncomfortable, she told him that they had to act like a couple so he had to suck it up and treat her like she was his girlfriend.

At the time Sakura was thinking that this was a good idea, she'd be able to get Naruto to act like he loved her to see if he actually did, but now, after only about twenty minutes she realized that her initial plan wouldn't work. You see, as soon as they stepped out of their room Naruto totally become someone else and did a complete one eighty. They were twenty minutes in and he had complimented her on her dress twelve times already. And when another woman walking past with her husband complimented Sakura on her dress as well Naruto went on a five minute spiel about how he was the luckiest man on earth to be dating someone as amazing as her. It made Sakura blush and feel all warm and fuzzy inside when he did that but she soon realized that he must just be acting. He was playing his undercover role. He was playing a man who was in love with his girlfriend, so he acted like it. Sakura knew that even if his words and feelings weren't true then she would at least soak in all of his constant praise for her as long as she could.

Walking in the pinkette saw over a hundred people all around the massive dining hall. The hall, which was more like a floating palace, was three stories high with the main floor with tables that would be pushed back to reveal the dance floor and two upper levels on both sides of a regal looking gold and red double stairway that led to the top two floors. Hanging in the center of the high ceiling was a stunning crystal and glass chandelier that must have been fifteen feet from top to bottom and had a diameter of the same length. In the center of the main room was someone who Sakura assumed was the captain sitting at the large, center table. Looking at the tables Sakura saw that they were meant for six people, three couples. She was surprised, she figured that it would be one couple per table. Sitting at the nearest empty table, Sakura and Naruto spotted both Shikamaru and Temari at a different table than Ino and Sai. At first they planned to sit together but decided against it since they didn't want people to know that they knew each other and thought that they were a group.

Not before long a young couple around their age walked up to the table and asked if they could sit with them.

"Excuse me, miss. But are these seats taken?" Asked a man from behind. Turning her head, Sakura saw a man about her age, he was of average height and build with a smile that made you want to smile back. Besides him stood someone who Sakura assumed was his girlfriend, she had black haired and looked fairly 'average' like him. She wore a basic dress that didn't show off any cleavage, skin or curves. Sakura wouldn't call her unattractive but she seemed 'ordinary' compared to all of the other women around who wore expensive dresses and gowns, sporting diamond and gold jewelry around their necks and wrists.

Snapping out of her sudden evaluation of the two, Sakura tried to get her mind to work when Naruto spoke up for her.

"They are not taken, please, feel free to sit with us." Said the blond with a big smile of his own.

"Yes, please, sit." Sakura spoke up. The couple smiled and thanked the pair of ninja as the man pulled out a chair for his girlfriend.

"Thank you. My name is Rokuro Hiroshi and this beautiful woman here is my girlfriend." Rokuro said with a warm smile as he motioned to the woman sat next to him.

"My name is Sunada Yura, it's nice to meet you." Said the somewhat plain looking woman.

"Wait" Said the pinkette. "Yura? As in _the_ Yura that owns the largest line of hospitals and clinic in the world?" The medic in her remembered that name like it was royalty, the Yura family ran the largest medical company in the entire world. They not only built and paid for hospitals but ran them as well. On top of that they founded some of the best medical schools in the world. All of this was outside of the shinobi nations, of course, but Sakura was thrilled at the idea of meeting a member of the Yura family nonetheless.

The woman looked like she expected Sakura to remember the name but wasn't expecting the amount of enthusiasm that the pinkette showed.

"Yes, my parents run the company. My father is the CEO while my mom is the CFO, I help them out from time to time with the marketing department whenever necessary. Why, you know our company?" She asked.

"Do I?" Sakura had a hard time not shouting, she felt like she was meeting her idol at the moment, she could hardly contain herself. "Of course I know about the world renowned Yura Medical Company. Yura is _the_ largest single medical company in the world. They run and oversee a hundred hospitals and clinics around the world. They not only are a massive company but they care for their patients, I heard that if a patient is unable to pay for a lifesaving surgery or procedure then the company is known to pay for it themselves. Is that true?" The pinkette was practically yelling she was so excited. The woman known as Sunad Yura gave her boyfriend a surprised look and smiled back to Sakura.

"Wow, you know a lot about my family's company. Not a lot of people around here know about my family that much. But to answer your question, yes, if one of our patients is unable to pay for any kind of life saving surgery, procedure, or the like then my father covers it for them, free of charge and tax. My dad says that it is the duty of the rich and well off to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. He even has that above the doorway of every one of our buildings across the world." Said Sunada with a smile.

"What does he have written above the doors?" Asked the pinkette.

"It is the duty for the bountiful to help the barren." Sunada said simply. "My parents say that that is something that everyone needs to live by, and I agree."

"I agree too." Said Naruto.

"I do too." Said Sakura.

"As do I. That is the very reason why I love her, she cares more about this world than herself. Not something you can say about most of the people around here." Said Rokuro with a smile at the end that he sent to Sunada.

"Awe, Rokuro, you're just trying to flatter me." Sunada said with a blush. The man shook his head and smiled back.

"No, I mean it, that's the reason why I love you."

Sakura and Naruto felt a little uncomfortable but also felt like going 'awe' at the same time. These two were just so cute together.

'So, Rokuro, what do you do?" Asked a curious Naruto.

"Me? Oh I don't do anything really cool like Sunada. My family just runs a few charities and disaster relief foundations. We have stock in a lot of major companies so I don't technically have a 'job' per se, as I don't receive money directly from the charity foundations. All of our foundations are nonprofit, so we don't see a dime of any of the money in them. But with all of the stock we own we are able to live quite comfortably and live off of the stock alone." Replied Rokuro.

"Wow, that's amazing." Said an impressed Naruto.

"I know, I love it. My family and Sunada's have the same ideals, we both believe in putting other people first. That's actually how we met, a few years ago, after a major storm hit the country and wrecked thousands of homes and destroyed several hospitals, our families teamed up and worked together to both help the survivors by providing them with food, clothing, shelter and such but also our parents pooled their resources and money and built a brand new, state of the art hospital where the previous one stood. Of course they teamed up and paid for the entire building process themselves, my family focused on the victims and her family focused on the hospital. But both families played a huge part in it, the hospital was actually named the Hiroshi-Yura hospital in their honor by the city after construction." Said Rokuro, Sakura could see the look in his eyes, he was proud of what his family but not prideful. Sakura was able to clearly tell that these two were the most decent, kind hearted people out of the entire ship. They both wore a smile that not only lit up the room but also made you want to smile as well. The four teens sat and talked about their families for a bit, much to the dismay of a certain blond who didn't memorize his information completely and had to be reminded things by Sakura. Not before long another couple joined the table during Naruto's telling of what happened between him and Shou. The new couple saw what happened and said that they knew him.

"Ah, that asshole, yeah I know 'em." Said Gordon Alasdair, a man who was a few years older than the teens at the table. His wife of five years, Olive, nodded her head in agreement.

"That man tried to hit on me my first year here after he grabbed my butt." Olive said with a little shiver.

"That same thing happened to me." Sakura said to the group.

"What happened?" Asked the blond hero.

"Well Gordon-." Olive started but was interrupted by her husband.

"I kicked his ass." Said the man simply. The pinkette looked the man over up and down in his seat. He was very tall and very large. He stood well over six and a half feet, with shoulders as wide as an ox. He had very white skin, a large brownish beard and long haired tied up in a knot. When Gordon stood up next to Naruto earlier Sakura was surprised to see that he completely dwarfed the hero in both height and size. Not to say Naruto was small or weak, but this man was huge. Yet, Sakura was able to tell that this man was the sort of 'giant teddy bear' kind of guys from how he talked.

"Wow." Said Rokuro.

"Were you okay?" Asked his wife, Sunada.

"Huh? Oh yeah, the kid couldn't even lay a finger on me. He tried to swing at me but I just grappled him and threw him over my shoulder and laughed at 'em." The large, bearded man laughed remembering that day.

"Like a sack of potatoes." Commented his wife.

"Ya should've seen the look on his face. He was so humiliated." The bearded man wiped a tear of laughter away and smiled to his wife. "But he never touched my sweet Olive again, did he?"

"No he didn't." Admitted his wife. "He won't even walk within twenty feet of me anymore."

"So it sounds like this Shou guy does that a lot. Grabs women, I mean." Inquired Rokuro.

"Yeah, the lad's done it every year I've been here anyways. This is our third year coming here. Every year I see him go after at least a half dozen girls, he manages to talk a few of 'em into sleepin' with 'em as well. The kid acts like he's devoted to his girl yet he gets around more than a horny rabbit. The girl isn't much better, as ya know she is worse than him. I'd bet ya that she'd end up sleepin' with at least two dozen guys by the end of the stay on the resort."

"Wow." Said both Sakura and Naruto in unison. The older couple looked to the pair in unison as well.

"So how long 've you two been together? Ya two look like a young couple but ya don't act like it." Said the bearded giant.

Sakura saw Naruto raise a brow and she voiced his question as well. "What do you mean?"

"Look around ya, every other young couple here can't keep their hands off of each other, they act like perverted little kids. Hands all over each other like that. Yet you two act like a couple that's been together for awhile." Gordon explained while he gestured to a couple at the next table. Sakura followed his gaze and saw a young couple, they were talking to the others at their table. But if you looked closer, you could see that the guy had his hand up his girlfriend's skirt under the table. The pinkette's eyes widened a bit. She knew from just her one day around these people that they didn't exactly hide PDA and the like but to be doing something like that a dinner, she didn't expect it.

"I agree, except for Rokuro and Sunada here, of course. All the kids around here all act the same." Said his wife Olive.

"I have to agree, I for one didn't expect the people here to behave so… inappropriately like this. Sunada and I saw a couple making out in the pool earlier, one of the staff had to ask them to leave when they started to take of the others clothing." Said Rokuro with a shocked tone.

"Really? That's just disgusting." Agreed the pinkette. Olive turned to talk to Sakura again.

"So, Hana, how long have you and Yuuto known each other?" Asked the slightly older woman. Sakura had to mind herself, she almost responded on instinct that they had been on the same team for years since they were children. She had to watch what she said. Without knowing it, she leaned up against Naruto to answer.

"We've known each other for pretty much all of our lives, actually. Our family have been friends for a few years. Yuuto's family own a multinational shipping company that designs and builds everything from cargo ships to cruise liners to private yachts. My grandfather had met with Yuuto's to make him a custom yacht, they have been friends ever since." Replied the pinkette, trying to remember all of the information for her fake background but at the same time come up with answers. Not everything about their past was written out for them, since the council had very little time to plan for this mission. Sakura just hoped that Naruto would remember what she came up with in case someone asked him later.

"You design cruise ships? Cool." Said Rokuro to the blond.

"I personally don't, we just own the company that does. I know nothing about ships, actually." Answered Naruto.

"Awe, that'd be cool." Rokuro said with a smile. Gordon sat up straighter and pointed behind Naruto.

"Ah, speak of the devil. There he is." The group looked behind Naruto in unison to see Shou and his girlfriend Niwa making their way to the captain's table in the center of the room.

"Why does _he_ get to sit at the captain's table?" Asked a curious pinkette. The large, bearded man sighed.

"It's 'cause he's the nephew of the owner of the resort. That's why the kid never gets kicked off the ship or resort and why he keeps coming back every year. He gets in for free from what I heard." Replied the large man.

"Really? A man like that? Must make his uncle proud." Said Sakura in a snide voice.

"He does, actually. Wait to ya get to the resort, his uncle is twice the sleaze the kid is." Turning the face the pinkette and Sunada he continued. "Ya two better watch yourselves, that perverted old man is worse than Shou by a mile."

"Take it from me, you two should stay with your boyfriends while on the resort. Not only do you have to watch out for the old pervert but a few of the guests as well. Some of the men around here don't know how to take no for an answer." Warned Olive to the younger women.

"Really? It's that bad?" Asked Sunada.

"Unfortunately it is. I wish that I could say that it's not. But it is." Answered Olive.

"Yeah, you two have to watch yourselves too, lads, the girls around here are worse, believe you me." Gordon warned Naruto and Rokuro. "Some of 'em like Niwa over there will use every trick in the book to get ya to sleep with 'em. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think ya two will ever do that to your girlfriends but I figured that I'd better warn ya."

"Yeah we already had the _privilege_ of having that women climb all over Yuuto at the pool. It took me exactly five seconds to figure her out." Said the pinkette with a disgusted tone. That woman made the pink haired medic wish she hadn't promised Naruto that she'd just ignore her. Sakura wanted to punch that woman through a wall, and she could very easily. If only her blond teammate hadn't made her promise that she'd let it go and ignore her attempts to piss her off. But that was easier said than done, she didn't know how Naruto did it, how he managed to forgive people for what they did to him. From the Sand all those years ago during the Chunin exams to Pain destroying the village to her in the Land of Iron…

Whenever she remembered that snowy day… well.. Let's just say that Sakura felt like a piece of shit. She felt like crawling into a corner and curling up into a ball, tears falling from her eyes. To this day Sakura couldn't believe that she actually did that to Naruto. She hurt him so much, she knew that, she couldn't forget that.

The pinkette let out a silent sigh as she left her thoughts and rejoined the conversation like nothing happened. Like she hadn't just wanted to die for a moment there. Unbeknownst to the pink haired medic a certain tall blond saw the broken look in her green orbs. For a second his beautiful pinkette looked so… dead inside. The village hero made a mental note to make sure she was okay when they were in private later. But now, the two had bigger things to worry about, dinner was finishing and the dance was beginning soon. One pinkette in particular was incredibly nervous as a blonde beauty was scheming.

oooOooo

* * *

 **(Ino POV)**

Finishing up with dinner, the blonde beauty of the Leaf had only one thing on her mind: getting Naruto to dance with her. Ino hadn't paid much attention during dinner, Sai had tried talking to her as well as the other couples at her table but she didn't talk much. She was too busy watching a certain village hero from afar eating dinner with her rival.

' _Damn that forehead, if she hadn't said anything to Kakashi-sensei then I'd be the one eating dinner with him. Why did she have to ruin this for me? She knew that I love him, why couldn't she just let me be with him? She won't even admit it that she likes him, I love him, I should be the one with him.'_

"Are you ready, Ichika?" Asked a monotone voice. Shaking from her thoughts, Ino looked to the pale ninja sitting next to her.

"What?" She asked a little confused.

"I asked if you were ready to dance. They are setting up for the dance right now. Do you want to dance?" Asked Sai with his obvious fake smile. Was he serious? Did he really think that she'd want to dance with _him_?

"No I don't, Touma, I don't feel like dancing right now." She answered.

"Oh, are you not feeling well? We can go back to our room if you'd like."

"No, I'm fine. I just don't wanna dance, that's all." She lied.

"Is that right?" Asked a skeptical pale ninja.

"Yeah, let's just hang out on the side."

"Whatever you want, Ichika." Said Sai. The two undercover nin got up and waited along the edge of the room with the other couples as the staff cleared the tables and prepared for the dance that was going to be taking place in the same room. All the while the blonde beauty kept her eye trained on her fellow blond as he hung around the pinkette. She lied to Sai earlier, she _did_ want to dance, just not with him. She wanted to dance with Naruto.

Some time later during the dance the blonde beauty managed to lose Sai and made her way to where she saw Naruto last on the edge of the dance floor. She watched as her hero attempted to dance with the pinkette awkwardly. Ino wanted to laugh watching them. Both of them were so nervous around each other the entire time. Neither of them wanting to get close to the other. Proof, in her mind at least, that they really didn't like each other. If she were the one dancing with him then she would be doing anything _but_ keeping her distance from him.

So Ino now found herself wandering the edge of the dance floor in search of Naruto. Finally finding him, she kept her distance when she saw her rival trying to get a little bit closer to him. Ino's eyes glared, her rival was trying to get closer to him! Ino claimed him first, Sakura said it herself that she had no feelings for him. So why is she acting like this? Did she lie to Ino just to trick her? Does she really like Naruto after all?

After a few minutes at awkwardly dancing in place the pinkette stopped and said something to Naruto about going to the bathroom. Ino had to stop herself from fistpumping the air. This was perfect! Now was her time to get close to Naruto without forehead around. She'd actually be able to dance with him after all!

Waiting until the pinkette left, Ino walked up behind Naruto and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and looked at her a little surprised. She made sure to smile and appear like she had just happened to run into him.

"Hey, Yuuto, do you want to dance?" She asked in her best 'cute' voice. The hero looked a little surprised but answered quickly.

"Sorry, Ichika, but I can't. I'm waiting for Hana to come back." He tried to explain.

"Awe, come on. Just one dance. You can go back to dancing with her when she comes back. Come on, she's gone, let's dance while we can."

"What do you mean by that?" Asked a curious hero.

"Nothing, nothing. I just meant that we have the opportunity to dance right now, come on. You know you want to." Ino moved in and grabbed his arm, wrapping her arms around his muscular one. The hero let out a sigh and nodded his head after a few seconds.

"Fine. One dance, but when Hana comes back I'm dancing with her."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just come on, we're wasting time." Said Ino as she pulled Naruto onto the dance floor. Ino wasted no time latching on to the handsome hero as a slow song started to sound from the live band on stage. Ino quickly placed her left arm on his shoulder while her right hand grabbed and held his left. She gave him a look when he just stood there with a blank look on his face.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Said the village hero as he hesitantly placed his right hand around her side. Ino could feel him shaking from nerves, it was so cute. He was so nervous she wanted to smile.

The song played and the blond couple slowly shifted back and forth, Ino thinking about Naruto and Naruto thinking about Sakura. The song slowed even more and the platinum blonde beauty found herself closing the comfortable gap between them, pressing her soft body into his hard, muscular one. Naruto stiffened automatically, without warning Ino suddenly wrapped herself around him. Pressing her sizable breasts into his chest, the hero looked down to look at her but quickly recoiled, seeing her massive cleavage a mere few inches from his face. He was trying to not look at her.

After half a minute of being pressed into his body, Ino decided to take it even further. She grabbed his hand that was wrapped around her side loosely and drifted it down towards her fine ass. But as soon as his finger touched her butt the hero pulled his hand back like it had burned him.

Naruto let out a short 'ah' before he looked down to the shorter blonde. But as he tilted his head down, his lips were rushed and taken by the beautiful blonde. Shock filled his eyes as his mind went numb, what was happening? Why was she doing this? Was Sakura right? Did she like him?

The platinum blonde only got in a few seconds of kissing before she was pushed back rather forcibly by the hero. Stumbling back a few feet, Ino tried to balance herself but her heels made it difficult to balance. Before she knew it she found herself on the floor with a sore butt.

"Wh-, what was that? Why did you-? What?" Asked a stuttering hero. He stood there with a look that she couldn't place, but if Ino had to say she'd have to say that it was most likely the cross between confusion and anger.

Ino didn't say anything in answer. She said nothing to the people around her who saw her stumble and fall back onto the ground. She said nothing as her eyes drifted behind the handsome blond hero in front of her to see a certain pinkette not ten feet away, storming off in the other direction a fast as her feet could move. Obviously she had seen Ino and Naruto kiss but not Naruto push her off of him.

Naruto blinked a few times before stepping forwards to extend a hand to help her up. Not knowing Sakura was walking away behind him, he grabbed Ino's hand and helped her to her feet. He was sorry, he hadn't meant to use that much force to push her back. He didn't mean to knock her over.

"Sorry, Ichika, I-" Started the hero but he was quickly cut off by Ino.

"What was that for? Why the hell did you do that?" She demanded.

"Why are you yelling at me? _You're_ the one who suddenly kissed my without my consent." Said Naruto, his mind confused as to what happened.

"What do you mean, without your consent? You obviously _wanted_ me to kiss you. You were all over me." Ino replied with a raising voice. Naruto stiffened and breathed in, causing his chest to swell subtly.

"Wait, _I_ was the one all over you? No. _You_ were the one all over me. You tried to put my hand on your butt!" Naruto replied with a voice at the same level.

"What? No I didn't."

"Don't try to deny it, Ichika." Naruto had a hard time remembering to use her real name right now. "Don't try to act innocent, I know what you're doing. I'm not stupid." Naruto said with a stern voice. Ino got angrier.

"What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything."

"Yes you are, you're trying to get close to me. Pressing your chest against me like that and trying to kiss me… I can't believe you. What are you doing? You know that I like someone, why would you be doing this to me?" Demanded the hero of the Leaf. Ino had had it, why was he so mad? Did he not understand her feelings for him?

"Because I love you, that's why!" She nearly yelled over the crowd. A hush fell upon the couples near them as the blond hero stood silent, eyes widening from her sudden confession.

The beautiful blonde looked to the hero to say something, but when he didn't she got angry. "Well say something! I just told you that I love you. What do you have to say about it?"

"I know and I'm sorry." Replied the hero in a low, honest voice. "I'm sorry, but I love someone else, you know that. I can never love you-" The room and Naruto went silent as a loud slap was heard across the room that bounced off the walls.

The room was shocked to see the blonde woman slap the man in front of her across the face. He stood there motionlessly as her anger increased and her face reddened from anger.

"Why? Why can't you love me? _You_ chose _me!_ Not her! Why won't you love me? I love you while she refuses to love you! Why are you doing this? You are destined to be with _me,_ not _her._ What- I don't understand." Ino stepped back a foot and got visibly shaken. She was moving her side to side while placing her head in her hands. Concerned eyes were on her, the entire room watched in curiosity.

"I'm sorry, In-Ichika, I really am. I know how it feels, I really do, but I love someone else. Someone who doesn't even like me, I know, but I love her." Said the hero softly. Making sure that no one else besides her heard him.

"I am not the one for you, I'm sorry. But someone out there is, I know it, you're beautiful, kind, strong, funny and fun to be around, but I'm not the one. Sorry." He continued in a low voice which caused the people nearby to lean in, trying to hear any of the new gossip.

Tears started to fall from her eyes slowly as she looked back up to Naruto who had now stepped closer to make sure he kept his voice low.

"But I don't understand, you just said that I'm all of those things. I don't understand, if you think that about me then why? Why won't you love me?"

"Because I love someone else. Someone who is all of those things and more, sorry. Someone is so amazing that I can't keep my eyes off her. You are beautiful, I won't deny that, but that's not everything. And it shouldn't be, find someone who loves you for you, not because of how low cut your dress is." He attempted a smile to try to alleviate some of the tension between them. "I'm sorry, but I don't love you. I don't know the exact reason why you love me but you shouldn't think of it as scripture, feelings that you have in the moment are rarely ones that are real. You may have loved me then but you most likely don't love me now, sorry."

The blonde stood silent as warm tears flowed down her face steadily. The hero gulped and looked around nervously, hopefully people didn't get the wrong idea, he didn't want people thinking that he was some kind of heartless bastard. He was trying his best to make her understand without being too mean about it. He knew from Sakura that Ino wanted to sleep with him, but he didn't know that she was as far as being in love with him. He didn't know what to do.

"I'm sorry, Ino. I really am. I hope you know that I'd never do anything to hurt you… I, I'm sorry." Apologized the village hero.

"I know." Whispered the beauty as her tears slowed. "I know that you wouldn't. I just… don't… know what… to do."

"That, I can't answer, Ino, I'm sorry. You'll have to figure that out for yourself. But I think that you should take some time and think about it." Said the hero kindly.

Ino wiped her now stopped flowing tears and looked back up to him. "I know, I-, thanks and sorry. I know that you love forehead, I'm sorry." Naruto smiled to her.

"Don't worry about it, I know how it feels, being in love with someone who will never love you. I'm sorry." His eyes looked sad just saying it. For a second, Ino considered telling him that she was sure that Sakura had feelings for him, but should she say it? Should she tell her crush that another girl liked him? She didn't know, she'd need to take some time and think about it. Sighing before lightly hugging him, she turned from her blond hero to go back to her room. She walked through the crowd of onlookers without even noticing them, her mind was far to foggy and frazzled to notice them.

Ino heard Naruto apologize one last time before she got out of earshot. Leaving the grand hall and making her way to her room, the beautiful bonde opened the door and rushed to the bathroom, discarded her clothes, turned the heat up full blast and sat with her knees pressed into her large chest as she used the sound of the running water to cover the sound of her cries. Ino remained in the tub for over an hour, oblivious to the world around her and oblivious the the pale man in the next room who was besides himself for wanting to help her but not having any knowledge as to how to help her.

oooOooo

* * *

 **(Shikamaru/Temari POV)**

Temari placed her head on Shikamaru's shoulder as they slow danced together. It took the Sand shinobi twenty minutes to convince the Nara heir to dance with her. They had been fine at dinner with the occasional small talk and joke here and there with the other couples at the table but as soon as they went to dance Shikamaru got all uptight and rigid. He told her that he didn't feel comfortable dancing but she managed to convince him that if he didn't dance with her then she wouldn't let him sleep next to her tonight. This seemed to work since he finally let in and danced with her.

Temari had had fun at the beginning messing with him, she'd purposely bump into him or get too close just to make him uncomfortable. She loved seeing the nervous look on his face whenever her body happened to brush up against his. He was like a nervous pre teen, a big bundle of nerves in front of his crush. It made her smile. When they first started dancing he asked where he was supposed to put his hands, she sighed and told him to hold one hand with hers and to place the other one on her butt. This, of course caused the usual calm and stoic genius to turn red and stutter, which of course caused Temari to laugh even more. It took a few more minutes but the two managed to dance with each other. Temari was in heaven, she was slow dancing with her boyfriend, her _boyfriend_. That concept was still knew to her. She had never had a boyfriend before but she knew one thing, that she wouldn't trade Shikamaru for any man in the world. The Sand shinobi let out a relaxing sigh as she moved in closer to her Shika and let her head rest on his shoulder as they slowly swayed back and forth. She was able to take in the feeling and be in her own personal heaven for about five seconds before she heard a loud slap come from across the room.

"What the hell!" She growled, who dared to ruin this moment for her?

oooOooo

The dance ended not so long after Ino left after causing a huge scene, slapping Naruto and yelling that she loved him. Shikamaru hoped that all of this would blow over fast, hoping that no one would wonder why Ino declared her love for Naruto when she was supposed to be dating Sai, as per her cover. The lazy Nara let out a sigh as he tried to come up with ways to counter this when, without warning, a towel-clad Temari burst out of the bathroom and jumped on the bed with an impressive leap and a 'woo!'. This of course meant that she jumped on him as well, as he was sitting on the bed thinking and waiting for Temari to get out of the shower.

"What the-?" Asked a surprised genius, as what he guessed was a naked Temari suddenly jumped on him. He found himself lying on his back on the bed as the towel-clad woman laid on top of his body.

Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise and his face turned a dark shade of red as said woman sat up and rolled off of him and laid next to him on the bed. Propping her head up with her arm she laid on her side looking at him.

"Hey, Shika, what's up?" She asked, ever casually. The Nara heir scooted back a foot on the bed instantly. Trying to get as far away from the naked woman as possible.

It took a few moments but he finally managed to get his mouth to work. "T-Tem, what are you doing? Why're you-, what're you, what?" His mouth worked but his words didn't seem to be making sense.

The woman next to him raised an eyebrow and gave him a confused look. "Huh? What are you talking about? What's the problem?" Asked Temari, feigning confusion.

The genius quickly averted his eyes before gesturing to her 'outfit', or lack thereof. "Y-you, you're not wearing anything! You're in a towel, that's what the problem is!"

She gave him another fake confused look. "Yeah, so? You've seen me in less, remember? I didn't think it'd be a problem."

"Well of course it's a problem, you can't just walk around in a towel, that's not decent." Exclaimed the genius.

"So let me get this straight, you don't want me wearing this towel, am I right?" Asked the blonde. Forcing back a smile as a plan popped into her mind.

"Exactly. I don't want you wearing a towel in front of me. I told you that I had a hard time with it earlier." Temari got up off the bed, making sure as to not let him see up it. She stood in front of the bed and raised a brow again.

"So I should take this off, is what you're saying?" She asked. She was loving this, he was falling for it, just like she planned.

"Yes." Answered the Nara heir quickly as he turned back to look at her slowly.

"Okay." Said Temari as she placed her hands on the top of her towel and began to open it. Shikamaru's face grew the darkest red she had ever seen in a second and his eyes shot wide open.

"Wait! No, I-." Was all he got out before Temari flung the towel open dramatically to reveal a short nightgown under her towel. When she saw the look on his face when he saw her clothes she nearly fell over from laughing.

"Oh, you should see your face, Shika. You're redder than a tomato! Hahaha." She laughed hard as she had to gasp for air after laughing so hard.

"What? You, you had… You were wearing clothes the entire time?" Demanded a red faced genius. Temari only nodded her head and gave him a 'duh' look.

"Hahaha, oh, you should see your face right now, Shika. It's priceless. You fell for it so easily, I didn't believe it." Said the blonde as she wiped a tear from her eye.

Said genius' face started to lose it's redness as he took in a few calming breaths to stop his heart from exploding. He was right, she was determined to give him a heart attack by the end of the mission. He was sure of it.

"Uh, I… I don't even know what to say…"

"How about thank you?" She offered.

"Thank you?" Asked the Nara heir, confused.

"Your welcome." Said Temari with another laugh. "Oh lighten up, Shika. I'm just messing with you."

"I know. It's just, I… you…"

"Awe, is someone cranky that I pulled a joke on him?" She asked, another huge smile on her face.

"You're trying to give me a heart attack, aren't you?" Asked the genius and he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Maybe just a little." Admitted his girlfriend. "It is fun watching you freak out over every little thing."

"I do not freak out over every little thing." He defended himself quickly. Temari blinked and found herself laughing again.

"Yeah, you do."

"What? No I don't."

"Uh Shika, yeah you do. You blush, turn the other way and get all nervous over every little thing. One would think that someone such as you would be comfortable with girls by now at your age."

"What do you mean by that? He asked.

"I mean that you act like you've never seen a girl before sometimes. You act like you just discovered the opposite sex and you freak out. You've known Ino your whole life right?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Well, not to be rude to her or anything, but that girl doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'modest' when it comes to clothing and behavior. I've seen her hanging out with you and the others before, she doesn't exactly hide her body."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Shikamaru.

"I'm talking about that time a few months ago when I came by your house to deliver a letter from the Hokage, I walked into your living room to see none other than Ino sitting on your couch in nothing but a skimpy, cherry red bikini."

"Well yeah, we were going to be going to the lake for a swim… I had the day off, remember? You went to."

"I know that, Shika. I'm not an idiot. But you were sitting next to her on the couch, remember? And she was wearing a much more revealing bikini than what I wore today, yet you didn't seem to have a problem with her in it."

"Are you- are you trying to imply something, Tem?" He asked cautiously.

"Yes. No, I don't know. It's just that, what's the difference? I've seen her practically shove her boob into your face during training to throw you off but you didn't waver, but when I let even a tiny bit of skin show you freak out. I'm not… upset, or anything, actually, I'm happy that I seem to be the only girl that you act like this with but, I'm just curious. You know that she's like the most attractive girl in the village right?"

"Well I wouldn't say that." Said the genius.

"Huh? What other girl is more attractive than her?" Temari asked.

"You." The Nara heir replied simply. In the blink of an eye Temari was hugging him on the bed.

"Awe, you sweet talker you. If I didn't know any better I'd say that you're trying to get something out of me." She said with a implied tone.

"What? No I, wait, I didn't…"

Temari chuckled before pecking him quickly on the cheek so he couldn't stop her. "Oh I'm just messing with you. I know you, you wouldn't have the balls to just ask for something like that." Said the Sand ninja in a joking manner.

"Hey." He gave a look like he was insulted, which, he technically was being.

"I'm just messing with you, Shika. You know that, right?"

"Yeah yeah, I know." He let out a sigh and got off the bed much to her dismay. "It's late, I still have to take a shower so we can go to bed." He started to gather his clothes from the dresser.

"Hey Shika?"

"Yeah?"

"Just to let you know, but you're going to be sleeping with me again tonight." She said like it was decided by the universe itself. She chose not to remind him though that he didn't have a choice. They were being watched by who knows who. And it would look a little strange if a married couple, as that's what they were pretending to be, didn't sleep together.

"What? Why?"

"Because you earned it."

"How?" He asked.

"With that little line about me being the most attractive girl in the world, of course." She said with a smile.

"I didn't say that."

"Huh? Yeah you did." Now she was confused

"No, I said that you're the most attractive girl in the hidden Leaf village. To say that you're the most attractive girl out of the entire world would be pushing it. I don't know if I'd go that far." Said the Nara heir in a totally serious tone. Temari's jaw dropped.

"What?!" She demanded.

Shikamaru managed to hold his poker face for a total of three seconds before dropping it and muttering a 'please don't kill me'.

"Oh, don't count on it, bucko." Temari said as she cracked her knuckles and jumped off the bed. His eyes widened as he made a beeline to the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind him. Temari pounded on the door.

"You know that I can break this door down without even trying, right?" She asked, a mixture of fake anger and playfulness in her voice. She knew that he was just messing around, the first time that he had, actually, and that he was starting to regret what he said.

"I'm sorry." Was heard from behind the door.

"You're gonna be sorry once I get my hands on you. Believe me."

oooOooo

Some time passed after Shikamaru's shower. When he stepped out of the bathroom he was met with a large pillow to the face. Temari laughed her butt off when she knocked him over and sent him stumbling into the wall.

After a few minutes of play fighting with the pillows the two shinobi called a truce and settled down for bed. It was well past eleven and the two were just now getting ready for bed. Temari of course made sure to make a few more jokes about Shikamaru sweet talking her into sleeping with him, even though she was the one who insisted, saying that he was trying to charm her. After a few minutes and a 'goodnight' from each other, the pair went quiet as they attempted to go to sleep.

At midnight, however the two nin both sat up and turned their bedside lamp on in unison. "Oh what the hell? Are they still going?" Asked a tired and somewhat cranky Temari.

So was of course talking about the couple on the other side of the wall. Who were currently having the loudest sex that Temari had ever heard in her entire life. They weren't just loud, they were explicit and descriptive. Without wanting it, the pair were being given a rather detailed play by play of their sex. Temari thought that the privacy curtains would've kept the sound but she was wrong, the couple could be heard clear as day. Every fifteen minutes or so they seemed to switch positions and exclaim it to the world. Currently, right now it seemed that the guy was banging the girl so hard into the wall that it shook the actual wall. And of course after each thrust was heard an 'ah' or 'yes' or some random cry of joy. The ninja pair turned their heads to look at each other and suddenly both became very uncomfortable and nervous. It's uncomfortable to hear people having sex but it's way more uncomfortable hearing people having sex when you're lying next to your significant other while never having sex with each other before.

Every grunt or cry or whatever made Temari picture what was happening in the room next to theirs. And of course whenever she imagined that her mind would think of her and Shikamaru in that situation. That of course only made the Sand ninja blush incredibly hard and made her heart rate spike every time.

A thought popped into her head that she couldn't shake. "Hey Shika?" She asked.

"Yeah?" Asked the Nara heir, who was trying his best to ignore the sounds of the other couple and trying even harder to not think about the fact that he was lying next to his girlfriend.

"When do you wanna have sex?" She asked casually, looking over at him.

Needless to say that Shikamaru was shocked, he turned a bright red as his eyes widened tot the size of saucers. "Wh- what are you saying? You can't just-. I, you… we, uh…" He stuttered out which caused the blonde to laugh at his nervousness.

"W-what makes you ask?" She gave him a look.

"Uh I don't know, maybe the sounds of the couple next door going at it for the past hour. Maybe that had something to do with it." She said with an 'are you dumb?' tone.

"Oh, yeah, duh."

"So, you ever think about it?" She asked casually as she made herself comfortable on her side to face him. She knew that she wouldn't be getting any sleep any time soon so why not talk to Shikamaru?

A few seconds passed before his trademark sigh was heard. "Honestly?" He asked, turning over to look at her lying next to him.

She nodded and he continued. "Last night actually." He admitted softly. Temari's eyes widened, she didn't expect him to actually answer, and even if he did, she didn't expect an answer like that.

"What? Seriously Shika? Wow, so you were having dirty thoughts of me as you were going to sleep, I knew that you weren't as innocent as you pretended to be." She said in a playful voice.

"Wait, don't say it like that, you make sound like a pervert." He said in a quiet voice.

"Oh don't worry about it, I've been thinking the same thoughts for the past hour. That doesn't make you a pervert, it makes you a teenager."

"Yeah well, it's not like I had any control over it, so don't worry."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean that it was in a dream, I had no control over it. I'm sorry." He said softly.

"You were dreaming about us having sex?" Asked the Sand ninja. She was a little surprised to say the least.

"Yeah, sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" She asked.

"Well I figured that you'd think it was a little… weird that I was dreaming of you like that. I know that I have no control over what I dream about but still, I don't like dreaming about people like that." Shikamaru rolled back onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

"Why?" Inquired the blonde.

"Because even though it's just a dream it's not good to think of people that way. Call me old fashioned but I still believe that we shouldn't think about the opposite sex that way. It not only disgraces ourselves but the ones who we think of as well. I just don't like having impure thoughts about other people, especially ones that I care about, okay?"

A silence was heard from the blonde that lasted a full minute before she let out a sigh and snuggled up against him causing him to tense up. "You know, I don't really care if you think about me like that, just saying."

"Really?"

"Well yeah, you _are_ my boyfriend after all. If anyone else thought about me like that then I'd have a problem with it, but as long as you love me I don't really care." She gave him a short peck on the cheek that made him blush even more.

"Besides, I've had a few dreams like that about you… so who am I to judge." Shikamaru's eyes widened at the girl in his arms.

"Really? You have those kinds of dreams about me?"

"Well duh, how couldn't I? My boyfriends the most handsome guy in the Leaf village." She said with a smile.

"And my girlfriend is the most beautiful girl in the Leaf village." Said the Nara heir, causing the Sand shinobi to smile and blush a little.

"Not just in your village, but in the whole world, remember?"

"I still wouldn't go that far, I've see some beautiful girls in my days traveling the world." Shikamaru said in a playful tone.

"Oh really?" She questioned.

"Yeah, really."

"Like whom, may I ask is more beautiful than me?" She asked as she tossed haired back over her shoulder dramatically.

"The Feudal Lord's daughter, for one."

"What? You met his daughter? Why?"

"It was when Naruto was awarded for saving the world after the war, the Feudal Lords all gathered and thanked him personally. I went with him and Kakashi-sensei." He explained.

"And this was where you met his daughter?" She asked, still skeptical.

"Yeah, the Feudal Lard actually wanted Naruto to marry his daughter right there on the spot."

"What? Really?"

"Yep, Naruto of course said no, that went over as well as you would think. Anyway, that night his daughter tried to uh, seduce is the best word I guess, him. That of course didn't work either."

"Wow." Said Temari.

"Yep. We never told anyone though, so please don't tell anyone, especially Ino."

"Why?"

"Because you know her, she's the gossip queen of Konoha. If you tell her then the entire village would know within three days."

"Oh yeah, that girl can't keep her mouth shut." Temari said with a short laugh.

"Don't tell Sakura either." He warned.

"I won't, I'm more than aware of what might happen. She may say that she doesn't like Naruto but if another girl even gets close to him she tries to kill them."

"Good. You think they're done? I haven't heard them for the past few minutes." He asked, referring to the couple next door. Temari had actually forgotten about them. She hadn't realized that they stopped.

"I think so. Finally. Maybe now we can actually get some sleep." Said Temari, sounding extremely happy. It was really late and they were most likely going to have to get up early to depart from the ship.

"I know. I still can't believe that they went on for that long. I didn't know that people went for that long, it had to have been almost two and a half hours."

"Well you'd be surprised how long you can go when you have the right partner." Implied Temari with a smirk as she cuddle up next to him again.

"Tem!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Jeez, have some fun once in awhile." She said with a playful voice.

"Maybe one of these days if you manage to _not_ nearly give me a heart attack I might entertain the idea given some… incentive." Said the Nara heir with a sly look on his face. Temari gave him a look and laughed.

"Oh really? Like what?" She asked.

"Like you wearing that nightgown to bed every night for example." Said the genius slowly.

"You pervert." Said Temari as she lightly punched his shoulder.

"Well you're the one who said that I could act like one as long as I loved you, if you remember."

"...True. I did say that, didn't I? Well never mind, carry on." She said simply.

"Wait, really?" He asked.

"Yeah, really. I don't care either way." She replied.

"Okay then. Well, uh… you ready for bed?" Asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah, I guess so." She said as she turned off the light on her nightstand. He reached over and did the same.

"Night Tem." Said Shikamaru.

"Night babe."

"Babe?" He asked.

"I'm trying to come up with another nickname for you. Thought babe would work but I don't like the sound of it." She said in the dark.

"Well let me know when you come up with something."

"Oh don't worry, I will."

"Night." He said.

"Night honey. Naw, don't like that one either. Night Shika."

"Night, Tem."

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading, leave a Review, Follow and Favorite. Thanks, Hephaestus.


	16. Ch16: Another Kiss?

Chapter 16: Another Kiss?

 **Author's Note:**

Hey everyone, sorry about the late upload but work was crazy this week and I wasn't feeling good last night so I went to bed before getting the chapter out.

If you're all wondering what happened to the last chapter I put out last week I decided that I didn't like it so I rewrote most of it. I received a Review that told me that I was stalling the story, I completely agreed with it and decided to rewrite the chapter to make it better. For those of you who read the first chapter 16 then forget it, disregard it, that chapter doesn't exist anymore and it's for the better. Let me know if you think I should delete the previous chapter that was just an Author's Note or not. Thanks.

 **Special Thanks:**

Thanks to **maxslayer10** for suggesting one of the characters that will be appearing in this chapter.

Also thanks to **Yojimbra** for leaving your review and making me realize that I was dragging the story and that it wasn't the best that I could do. I really appreciate it and hope that if you ever have a problem like that with this or another story that you'll let me know. I hope that you like this chapter much better this time. This chapter is for you.

 **NEW SCHEDULE:**

Sorry about this chapter being later than usual but I had less time to work on it and I wanted to get it out as soon as possible. Just to let all of you know, but I've thought about it and I've decided that I'm going to be updating my stories every other week from now on. I don't have the time to work on them that I used to and I want to give you guys the best content that I can and I feel like I can't do that when I'm rushing to get it out.

 **POLL:**

I put a poll up on my profile a few weeks ago giving you guys some of my ideas for another story. Since my Animorphs series is going to be discontinued I'm going to be coming up with a new story or series(maybe). There is one that I'm going to be doing regardless of the results since I want to do it but let me know, pick the two that you're interested in the most and I'll start working on them. No promises on when they'll start though, it'll depend on the story. Feel free to suggest a story idea in a PM or Review. If I like it then I just might pick it.

It's also my first try at doing a poll so let me know if I messed anything up and I'll fix it.

And now for what you've all been waiting for, here's the next episode of 'A Mission of Love'.

* * *

 _ **Recap:**_

 _After half a minute of being pressed into his body, Ino decided to take it even further. She grabbed his hand that was wrapped around her side loosely and drifted it down towards her fine ass. But as soon as his finger touched her butt the hero pulled his hand back like it had burned him._

 _Naruto let out a short 'ah' before he looked down to the shorter blonde. But as he tilted his head down, his lips were rushed and taken by the beautiful blonde._

" _Wh-, what was that? Why did you-? What?" Asked a stuttering hero._

 _Ino didn't say anything in answer. She said nothing as her eyes drifted behind the handsome blond hero in front of her to see a certain pinkette not ten feet away, storming off in the other direction a fast as her feet could move. Obviously she had seen Ino and Naruto kiss but not Naruto push her off of him._

" _Well say something! I just told you that I love you. What do you have to say about it?"_

" _I know and I'm sorry." Replied the hero in a low, honest voice. "I'm sorry, but I love someone else, you know that. I can never love you-" The room and Naruto went silent as a loud slap was heard across the room that bounced off the walls._

* * *

Chapter 16: Another Kiss?

(Naruto/Sakura POV)

A breaking heart. Something that everyone feels in their life, and Naruto is no different. His heart has been broken by this shinobi world several times. However he has grown to deal with them better and better over the years, but breaking a heart, now that's an entirely different question.

Not in all of his years did Naruto ever want to break someone's heart, as he knows how it feels, but just then, at that moment, he broke someone's heart. Ino's heart. Even if the hero wasn't aware of her feelings towards him he still felt sorry and bad for what happened.

The blond hero watched as the beautiful blonde of the Leaf rushed out of the hall, head in her hands and tears running down her face. He wanted to comfort her, to help her, to… do something else but stand there, looking like an idiot in the center of a circle of people all staring at him. But he didn't know what to do, he couldn't do anything. So he watched, watched as the last of her platinum blonde hair fled from view.

The dance ended not soon after, as they had caused a huge scene. Naruto tried his best to slip away from view and stayed around the side of the room looking for his pink haired friend. He found an upset and worried Shikamaru instead. The Nara heir told the hero that if anyone asked why Ino said that she loved him to say that she was drunk and wasn't thinking straight. Shikamaru said that it was the best idea he could come up with in such short time.

Leaving Shikamaru and Temari, the blond hero of the Leaf quickly headed to the exit of the hall in search of Sakura, but again found someone else. This time it was Rokuro and Sunada, both of whom were confused and concerned about what happened. With Rokuro asking if he knew that Ino(Ichika) loved him and Sunada offering to take a look at his swollen lip and cheek. Naruto said that he didn't know that she loved him. As much as he didn't want to lie to them, he told them that she was drunk and that's why she acted out like that. Naruto was surprised when they seemed to buy his lie. Not taking up Sunada's offer to check his cheek he excused himself and rushed to his room, hoping to find his pink haired crush there.

oooOooo

Returning to his room the hero froze at the door upon hearing something that he wished that he would never have to hear again: Sakura crying.

It was rare, but the pinkette did cry from time to time, far less often now compared to her younger years but it was still something that Naruto was surprised to hear. He had only heard her cry like this when Sasuke left the village. It wasn't a loud or hopeless as the time where she thought that Sasuke died fighting Haku though, this time, she sounded… broken.

The blond hero lightly placed his hand on the doorknob but didn't open it. He stood there for a second and listened to his true love sob, it hurt to simply hear her so hurt, he didn't know if he could see her like this. However the hero was confused, why was Sakura crying?

Opening the door her sobs became louder and her mumbling more clear. Naruto paused mid step as he saw her lying on the bed in the loft. When he started up the stairs the pinkette heard him and she went silent instantly, or as silent as she could as she sniffled and attempted to wipe her tears, not wanting him to see her cry. She opened her mouth to speak but he spoke first.

"S-sakura-chan? What's wrong? Are you okay? Did... did something happen?" He asked softly. When she didn't answer he crossed the room and sat down besides her, placing a weary hand on her shoulder.

She didn't want to answer, not really, what she wanted right now was to be alone. But… she also wanted to have him comfort her… like she knew he would. He always did.

"Sakura-chan? Did… did something happen? Did I… did I do something?" He asked, his voice still weary and soft. Gone was his usual loud voice. His mind was racing, trying to figure out what he could've done. Was she mad that he was close to her at the dance since she loves Sasuke? Was she still upset about what Niwa said? Was it something else entirely? What was it?

"You… you kissed…" She started before trailing off quickly. Taking a breath she started again. "You kissed her, why?" Silence. Only silence was heard for a half minute after she spoke. Lying on the bed, her knees to her chest with her crush sitting next to her, his hand on her shoulder, they remained silent until the hero's mind clicked. He griped her shoulder a little tighter and she turned her head to face him for the first time since the dance but stopped short, not wanting to see his face, in case he was about to break her heart.

"Huh? You mean Ino? I.. I didn't know that you saw that…" He rubbed the back of his neck. Was this what she was so upset about? Why? She's seen other girls do that before.

"Yeah, I saw. You were dancing with her when I was gone, then you kissed her." She said accusingly. She wanted him to leave but… she was worried that if he left that he wouldn't come back to her. That he'd leave her for Ino.

"No, she kissed me." He corrected. Her eyes widened a little at his response. Still not daring to look at him, she spoke up.

"What?"

"She kissed me, Sakura-chan, believe me, I didn't give her my consent. Not even a little bit." He replied.

"What? She kissed you? You... you didn't kiss…" She trailed off again and he kept going.

"Kiss her? No, Sakura-chan, I didn't. I wouldn't. I… I didn't see it coming, I should've, now that I think about it, but she distracted me and caught me off guard and she kissed me." He explained, hoping that he was doing a good job.

"Wha- what happened? What did you do?" She asked.

"Well as soon as I realized that she was kissing me I pushed her away. Did- didn't you see me push her away? She fell to the ground, I had to help her up."

The pinkette's eyes widened a bit more. She hadn't seen anything after their kiss. So Naruto pushed her away? He didn't let her kiss him? He didn't want Ino to kiss him?

"No. I… I was walking back to you when I saw… her. I turned around and ran off as soon as I did. So I didn't see anything afterwards." She answered.

"Oh. Well after that… after that everything sorta hit the fan." He said wearily, rubbing the back of his neck again out of habit.

"How? What happened?"

"Well she... well she said that she loved me. In front of everyone, the entire hall heard her." The medic's heart sank, there it was, Ino told him that she loved him. Sakura knew that it would've happened sooner or later. If only… if only she hadn't been so nervous and worried, she could've been the one to confess to him first and be the one to be with him.

"Then I told her that I didn't- couldn't, love her. That went as well as you would think." He said with a slight chuckle, remembering the confrontation.

Her eyes widened fully this time, hearing him. What did he say? She knew that he said that he didn't like Ino but for him to say-. Did he really not feel anything for her rival?

"Huh?" Was all she could force out of her jumbled thoughts.

"I told her that I couldn't love her. That I love someone else. She didn't take it well." He explained.

' _He loves someone else? Who? Could it be…?'_

"What happened?" The pink haired medic asked, still looking away.

"...How about you look at me and find out?" She heard him ask with a slight humorous tone.

The pinkette didn't want to look at him at that moment, but at the same time she wanted nothing else to look into his eyes and be reassured that she was the one. Mentally sighing she let her head turn to face his. When she saw his face she was surprised to see a fat lip and a purplish bruise on his cheek.

"What happened to you?" She asked as she sat up to sit next to him. The medic in her already moving to heal him without a thought. She did, however, make sure to turn her back to where she knew the camera was so that it didn't see her chakra healing his face.

"I already told you, Sakura-chan. Ino didn't take it well." He attempted a smile but winced when his face muscles reminded him of his pain.

"She slapped you?" She nearly shouted. He only nodded his head in response.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner? You should've told me immediately so I could've started working on you sooner. Now you might have this bruise for a day or so since I didn't get to it sooner." She quickly forgot her tears and worries, switching into her usual medic self. It didn't matter the situation, she would always put healing Naruto first.

"It's nothing, Sakura-chan. Really, I'm fine." He tried to reassure her but she gave him a look that said that she wasn't in the mood. She used one finger and poked his sore cheek, making the hero wince in pain instantly.

"Ah huh, really? Could've fooled me." She let out a soft sigh. "What have I told you, Naruto? You're not invulnerable, even you need healing from time to time. I don't care how much Kurama heals you, it's my job to heal you… so let me do it, okay?"

"Okay, Sakura-chan, sorry. It's just… that I was... worried, so I didn't say anything about it. I know that healing me is important to you, but how you're feeling is a lot more important to me then my health." She leaned up closer to him to heal his cheek. She was practically on his lap at the moment, a blush was threatening to creep across her face as she tried to focus on healing him and not on his lips.

They were just an inch from her hand and just a few inches from her own lips. She could hear him talking to her but she wasn't paying attention, everything was swirling inside her head. Ino, her rival and oldest friend, kissed Naruto, her crush and he just confirmed that he didn't like Ino himself. She couldn't think, she couldn't focus on healing his cheeks as his lips mesmerized her like they had placed a spell on her. Why was _Ino_ the one that was able to kiss him?

Without knowing that she started, the pinkette realized that she was moving in to close the small distance between them. Naruto was still talking but she wasn't listening. She had to do this. She _had_ to. It was now or never. He was right here and Ino stole his first kiss that was rightfully hers. She had to, even if he pushed her away like he did with Ino, she had to.

His lips were slightly apart since she caught him mid word but her lips crashed into his anyway. She could hear him wince in pain from the forceful contact on his swollen lip but she continued. The pinkette held the back of his head as she kissed him, keeping him where he was just in case he tried to move.

What was happening? This was what Naruto was trying to figure out. One second Sakura was healing his bruised cheek and the next second she's kissing him. What in the hell is going on? His cerulean eyes shot wide open as he tried to process what was happening right now.

He could feel several things welling up inside him at once, first was the pain from his swollen lip, but that didn't matter, he was too preoccupied to care. The second was a burst of pleasure throughout his whole being. Chemicals he didn't know the name of were swirling inside of him, pushing aside all other feelings and replacing them with pleasure.

The blond hero blinked, coming out of his thoughts, surprised that Sakura was still kissing him, so he wasn't going crazy. But this was wrong, no matter how amazing it felt... this was wrong, Sakura doesn't kiss him. She doesn't mess with his emotions, unless… she's trying to manipulate him. Again.

Naruto lightly but forcefully pulled his lips from hers and pried her hands from behind his head, sending her back in one motion. The sudden jolt of pushing her back sent the pinkette falling back onto the bed, her lips still reaching for his.

Sakura was ripped from his lips and found herself on her back on the bed. Her first thought and emotion was anger, she was in heaven kissing him and he just pushed her away like that? What the hell?

"Naruto, what the-." She started but stopped instantly when she looked up and saw his face. His usually happy, smiling face was gone, in it's place she found an angry, almost pissed expression and aura coming off of him. Sakura had very rarely, if ever, seen him look at anything like that, let alone her.

"Don't… do that." He warned as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Naruto, I-."

"Why did you do that?" He asked.

The pinkette looked down from his face, she felt like crying. Naruto pushing her away like that seemed to confirm her fears: that he didn't like her like he used to. Sakura didn't answer, couldn't answer. She felt embarrassed, heart broken, sad and every other emotion that she had ever felt in her entire eighteen years of life.

When she didn't answer after about a minute Naruto spoke up again. "Sakura-chan, why did you do that? Why did you… kiss… me?" He asked again.

Again the pink haired medic couldn't find the right words to say, she wanted to tell him that she loved him but that would only complicate things more. Should she tell him? Should she lie? What should she do?

' _Tell him that we love him!'_ Her inner self yelled at her. ' _This is your LAST chance! You already kissed him, what else do you have to lose?'_ Not getting a response the blond asked again.

"Why did you-?"

"Because I love you, Naruto!" The pinkette practically yelled at the top of her lungs for the whole world to hear. Naruto's eyes widened and his face became more and more tense and his eyes narrow as she continued.

"I love you, Naruto." Mixed happy and sad tears started to flow from her eyes. "And I don't care that you don't love me anymore but I love you. I LOVE you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner but-."

"Stop." His low, almost growled out warning stopped her mid sentence. "Stop lying to yourself. You know that I hate it when people lie to themselves."

Her green orbs widened. "What?" she managed to whisper out.

"Stop trying to mess with me, Sakura. Do you have _any_ idea how much it hurts hearing you say that? Hearing you _lie_ to me about loving me, _again_?"

"..." Sakura was speechless.

' _He doesn't believe us… what, what now?'_ Her inner self didn't know what to say either. She sat there on the bed, trying to figure out what to say when Naruto stood up from the bed.

"I'm heading out… I… I need time to cool off." Taking a step forward towards the stairs he continued. "If Shikamaru or anyone needs me... tell 'em I'll be at the bar..."

In silence the blond hero started to walk towards the stairs that led down to the main floor that hung above the loft. As soon as his foot hit the first step he felt Sakura grab his arm, trying to get him to stop.

"Wha-?" He started to ask as he turned around.

"You can't leave. Please, Naruto, you can't leave me!" The pinkette cried out as she reach for his arm with her other hand.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I need you. I NEED you, Naruto. More than you know."

"Why?" He asked again.

"Because I love you!" She cried out as she tried to pull him into a hug but he stopped her before she could reach him.

"No, you don't." His voice started to rise. "You don't love me. You _never_ have and you _never_ will. You love that damned _Sasuke_." He practically spat out his best friend's name in disgust.

"I brought him back for _you_. It took a few years and cost me an arm but I brought him back for you. Now go to him. Go and tell _him_ that you love _him_. And stop trying to break my heart like this."

The pinkette was taken back by this. "I don't love Sasuke anymore, that ship has sailed years ago. I stopped loving him when I finally realized that your promise to me was going to _kill you_. Of course I love you, I just told you so. Why won't you believe me?" She practically begged for an answer.

His face almost twitched and the pinkette couldn't help but notice. "Because you've told me that before, and I didn't believe you the first time either."

Sakura tried to put her hand up to his cheek but he stopped her. "Naruto…"

"Stop lying to both me and to yourself, you know that I hate that. You don't love me, you love Sasuke, not me." She could see tears forming at the corners of his cerulean orbs.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing to me? You know, I may not have shown it then, with Madara, the war and everything going on, but those words, _your_ words that you said to me. They hurt. They hurt so much that I couldn't breath. _You_ , hurt me. I couldn't sleep for days after what you did. You looked into my eyes and you lied to me. You told me that you loved me in order to use my feelings for you and use me. Use me, like some kind of tool, like what village has tried to use me as since the day that I was born."

The hero of the Leaf stood at the top of the stairs, his pink haired crush crying and his own angry, frustrated tears were being held back as much as they could be. "You hurt me, Sakura. You hurt me more than the looks from the villagers I got as a kid. More than being beaten and rejected by those same people. More than seeing my parents die from the memories of Kurama. More than losing Pervy Sage... More than anything else, _your_ words hurt me. But I forgave you, Sakura."

The pinkette opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Naruto again. "But then... you had to say it again, your lies that you love me." He was starting to get angry, angry at her. Something that Sakura was not used to.

"You just had to hurt me again, didn't you?" He asked and received silence in return. Gritting his teeth to stop himself from saying anything more, the blond turned to face the stairs again and pulled from her grip easily. He made his way down another step and stopped momentarily to say one last thing before he left.

"Give my apologies to Kakashi-sensei, and tell Granny, Iruka-sensei and everyone that I'm sorry. I don't care if it costs you the mission… but I need to leave. Goodbye forever, Sakura…" He hung his head as he started yet again down the stairs in silence. He hated to do this, but he couldn't handle it anymore. Couldn't handle being around and being infatuated with a girl that only rejected him and played with his emotions. The villages laws be damned, he'd be marked as a missing nin for the rest of his life for this but he didn't care. He had to leave her… He had to leave the village so he'd never have to see her again.

Something inside of Sakura broke, hearing Naruto say that he was going to leave her forever was the last straw. It was the thing that caused her inner self to take over. Her inner self that was yelling 'stop him' in her head as she jumped down half the flight of stairs in a single leap and tackled the blond from behind, landing on his back and sending the two of them tumbling down the remaining half of the stairs.

The blond and pink haired teens were a jumble of limbs on the floor. It took a few seconds but Naruto got his head to stop spinning enough to open his eyes. Lying on top of his chest, at eye level with him was Sakura, her eyes opening a second after his.

He opened his mouth to ask what the hell she was doing but was stopped short when his crush slammed her lips back down onto his again. A few seconds later he was able to think enough to react and started to push her off oh him but was stopped by the pinkette before he was able to say anything.

"I love you, Naruto! You can't leave me, please. You can't!" Her face was just a mere few inches away from his. He could feel her breath on his lips as she tried to catch her breath.

"..." The blond was silent , he didn't know what to say. He was sure that she didn't love him, but then again, she _did_ just tackle him off the stairs to stop him from leaving. He couldn't think straight. Everything in his mind was going off at once. What if…?

"You… you don't believe me… do you?" She asked. The sad look in his eyes told her his answer and she had to stop her tears from returning.

"Kiss me." She suddenly said.

"What?" He asked, finally finding his voice.

"You don't believe me that I love you. I've tried telling you but you don't believe me, so kiss me. Let me _prove_ that I love you." She was practically yelling at the end. She wanted him to know without the shadow of a doubt that she loved him.

"Kiss me!" She demanded.

"... I, I can't..." He forced out softly.

"Why not? Do you not love me?" She was almost pleading for him to confess to her like she had to him.

The blond's face recoiled a little at her question. Did he love her…? Of course he fucking did! "Of course I love you, Sakura. I love you so much that it hurts. I've loved you since the first day we met." He answered back a little too loudly.

"Then why, why won't you kiss me?" She asked.

"...Because I don't believe you." He replied, sounding a little ashamed that he said it out loud.

The pinkette was holding back tears as she lowered her face to his. "Then let me prove it to you, Naruto."

She pressed her soft lips onto his again and kissed him. This time, however, he didn't make a move to push her away. She kissed him, not aggressively like how she'd seen or heard about in books or movies, but passionately. Slow, deliberate and one hundred percent real. She felt no need to do anything special or crazy, didn't need to kiss him like a maniac, she just needed to kiss him, to show him her true feelings.

The two Leaf ninja laid there on the floor, Sakura on top of his body as he held her softly yet firmly by her waist, keeping her steady. The two were lost in their slow, passionate make-out session for what felt like an eternity. How long were they kissing for? A few minutes? A few hours? Neither of them knew nor cared. Both of the two young adults only cared about one thing: kissing the other.

After a little while the two had to break to come up for air. Sakura, who was still lying on top of him smiled down to him as he opened his eyes in realization of what just happened.

"Wha…?" He trailed off.

She smiled cutely at him. "Do you believe me now?" She asked softly.

His eyes widened a little as he was figuring everything out. "...Yeah..."

Sakura was overjoyed with feelings. Naruto, her crush, the man whom she loved, confessed that he loved her! In her mind there was only one thing to do: kiss him again! The pink haired medic lowered her head again and softly took his lips in another session of slow, calm kisses.

Pulling apart again she rubbed his cheek with her finger, lightly tracing over his whisker-like birthmarks. "I love you, Naruto."

"Why?" He asked, just as softly.

"Because of this." She said quietly as she gestured down to her stomach. He glanced down and only now realized that he had been holding her waist. But he didn't know what she was talking about though.

"Huh?" He asked.

She giggled a little and explained. "You didn't even realize it, did you?" She asked. He gave a confused look and she let out a sigh. "When I jumped down the stairs to you and we started falling down the stairs you caught me and made it so that _you'd_ be the one who hit the ground." She explained.

The blond thought for a second then he got it. She was right, he didn't even realize that he had spun her around and wrapped his body around hers protectively as they fell down the stairs.

"But why? Why does that make you love me?" He asked, a little confused.

She gave him a soft smile. " Because you've always done that, baka." She said 'baka' in a playful and caring way which he recognized. "Like at the inn when you thought that I was under attack and you burst out of the bathroom to help me. Even if everything was fine you risked your life to protect me. Like you've done a hundred times before that." She leaned in and pecked his healed cheek softly.

"It shows me that you truly care about me, Naruto. And I love you for that. I was too stupid and blind as a kid to realize that, that everything that you had ever done for me was because you loved me."

"Oh." Was all his fuzzy brain could come up with.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. Sorry for treating you so badly as a kid, I… I don't have any excuses or anything to say… I'm sorry, so sorry that I never gave you a chance." Tears were once again welling up in her eyes. Naruto saw this and removed his hand from her waist and used his thumb to wipe away the tear.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry for not believing you… I should've listened to what you had to say."

"No no, you had every right to not believe me. You're right… this isn't the first time that I told you that I loved you before." The pinkette tried her best to hold back her tears.

She continued. "Kami, I feel like a piece of shit about that… every time I think about it I wish that I could go back and stop myself from doing that to you."

Naruto held the emotional pink haired girl in his arms as she laid on his chest. He couldn't believe what was going on, his biggest dream was finally coming true. Sakura loved him! He didn't know what to say, his mind was blank, but when she started to apologize for what she did in the Land of Iron he came back to reality and brought his crush in for a hug to comfort her.

"It's fine, Sakura-chan. That's all water under the bridge, I already forgave you for that a long time ago." He lowered her chin lightly with his hand and lightly kissed her on her forehead. "I love you, Sakura-chan. There's no way that I could ever stay angry at you."

She couldn't say anything to that, this man, she loved him. She lowered her head once again and began to kiss him again. This time however, she sped up the motion and kissed him more passionately. Noticing her change of pace, Naruto increased his speed and intensity up a bit to match hers.

The two Leaf nin laid on the floor for several minutes, gradually picking up speed and intensity as they kissed. Naruto's hands made their way up the back of her shirt without knowing it and Sakura's began to unbutton his shirt, she however, knew what she was doing.

In one quick motion the pinkette pulled open his shirt once she undid his last button. Naruto's eyes widened, he didn't even realize that she had been doing anything. The two broke their lips apart and Sakura gave him a lustful smile.

"Damn… I see that those training sessions are paying off." She said as she traced his muscular chest with her finger lightly.

Naruto turned a bright shade of red, he had no idea that Sakura could ever act like this. She was acting completely different than she normally did. The look in her eyes were unmistakable to the blond, he had spent three years with a self proclaimed 'super pervert' after all. He knew the signs to look for and Sakura was definitely showing them.

"Uh… Sakura-chan, what… what are you doing?" Asked the blond.

"Nothin', just having a little fun." She teased as she went back to kissing him, slowly bringing her hand lower and lower on his stomach until she reached his belt buckle.

Naruto was distracted kissing Sakura when he felt her grab his belt buckle. He may be an idiot but even he knew what that meant, so he knew that he had to stop Sakura before she went too far.

"Wait, Sakura-chan." He managed to get out in between kisses. She stopped momentarily and gave him a confused look, did he really want her to stop now?

"Why?" She asked. "Aren't you okay with this?"

"Of course I am." He reassured her. "I just don't think we should be doing this right now."

She gave him a questioning look and raised a pink brow. "What do you mean?"

He turned a darker shade of red. "Well… uh, you're kinda close to grabbing my… uh-." The blond hero was cut off when the door to their room was suddenly opened and two pairs of legs entered the room.

"Hey, Yuuto. Sorry for just coming in but-." Rokuro started but stopped once he saw his two new friends laying on the floor, clearly in the middle of making out.

The two nin heard Sunada yelp as she saw them in their compromising position as well. "Oh my! W-we're so sorry!"

"Rokuro? Sunada?" Asked the blond as he looked at the two new arrivals from his spot upside down on the floor under the pinkette. It took a second to register but Naruto realized what was happening and quickly moved to take his hands out from under Sakura's shirt.

"Wait! Uh, this, this isn't-." He started but stopped when Sakura discreetly pinched him to get his attention. He was confused but figured out what she meant. What was he saying? Of course this was what it looked like. They were pretending to be a young couple, this was completely normal. He didn't have to make any excuses.

"What… what are you two doing here?" Asked the pinkette as she quickly got off of Naruto and sat on the floor next to him.

Both Rokuro and Sunada were blushing like mad and Sunada looked like she was about ready to pass out any moment. Rokuro cleared his throat. "Sorry. We uh, we just came to check on Yuuto."

"Check on Yuuto, why?" Sakura asked.

Sunada answered this time. "Well Ichika slapped him at the dance and his face was swollen… I'm trained in first aid, so I just wanted to check and make sure…"

Naruto's eyes widened a little. Of course they were worried. They both wanted to make sure that he was okay. His two new friends were proving to be really nice, kind people.

"Thanks guys, but… why did you two just burst in like that?" Naruto asked as he sat up and tried his best to cover his exposed chest with his shirt.

"Yeah, you should've at least knocked first." Sakura added.

Rokuro rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that, guys, but we didn't just 'burst in', the door was open a bit. So we didn't think… I mean, we would've thought that if you two were… you know… then you would've at least closed the door."

Sunada nodded. "We're deeply sorry. We had no idea. We, we…"

"It's okay, it's my fault for not making sure that the door was closed and locked." Naruto explained.

Rokuro laughed a little awkwardly as he reached over and grabbed something off of the table by the door. "Know you, next time I would suggest just putting this on your door. That's why we have them." He then showed the two nin what he was holding. It was a 'Do Not Disturb' sign that sits on the doorknob.

Naruto turned a shade darker red and Sakura was blushing just as hard as Sunada.

"Rokuro!" Sundad grabbed the sign and put it back on the table. "It's none of our business! Leave them alone."

He gave a smile and apologized. "Sorry, you two."

"No, no, it's okay." Naruto said.

The two pairs stood/sat there for a few seconds awkwardly without saying anything. The awkwardness in the room was clearly noticed by all.

"I uh, I guess we'll leave you two to get back to… uh, it. Sorry about not knocking again." Rokuro said.

"We're sorry. Bye, Hana, Yuuto. We'll see you two in the morning once we reach the resort."

"Yeah, bye." Sakura managed to reply.

"See you two in the morning." Naruto gave them a wave and the two waved back in return before Rokuro closed the door.

The two nin remained silent for a minute after their new friends closed the door. Neither of the two looking at the other. Both feeling incredibly embarrassed and awkward at the moment.

"Well uh, that happened." Naruto attempted a weak laugh but stopped after a few seconds.

"Is what you said true, Naruto?" Sakura asked after another few seconds of silence.

"What?" He asked.

"That you still love me? I, I was sure that you stopped a long time ago."

The blond sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. "Of course I do. You know me, I'd never lie to you. I also never go back on my word. That's my nindo, my ninja way. So if I say that I love you, then that means that I'll never stop."

The pinkette returned the hug and sat there in his arms for a few minutes, thinking. Them kissing aside, her mind was still going crazy over everything that happened. She knew that Naruto at least had a crush on her as a kid but would've never guessed that he still had it, let alone was in love with her now.

"Is what you said true, Sakura-chan?" He asked. "That you don't love Sasuke anymore?"

She nodded and leaned her head to sit on his shoulder since he was taller than her. "Yeah, I haven't loved him in a long time. I chose to forget about my stupid crush on him when we found out that he was going to try to kill you. I had to grow up and admit to myself that he would never love me." She replied softly.

"I'm sorry about that, Naruto."

"What?" He asked.

"That you nearly died three times trying to bring him back for me." She answered. "It was selfish of me to burden you with that promise. Any promise, really. I know that you would do anything to keep a promise to me."

"Yeah. I'd rather die than break a promise like that to you." He replied. "You mean the world to me, I'd do anything to protect you and keep you safe." He said softly, turning his head and kissing her forehead softly.

The pinkette blushed slightly. "Why do you do that?" She asked.

"What?" He asked.

"Kiss my forehead like that."

"Because it's just so beautiful that it makes me want to kiss it" He answered back. The pinkette's eyes widened a little.

"That's…"

"That's what Sasuke said back all those years ago when we just became a team?" He asked knowingly.

She nodded her head a little. "Yeah. How, how did you know?"

"Because it was me under a transformation jutsu." He said as if it were the most obvious thing ever. "Sorry about that, by the way. I know that I shouldn't have done that."

"You're right, you shouldn't have." Sakura said in a low voice, faking anger.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, a little worried that he said something that he shouldn't have.

"That kiss of _yours_ made me all that more infatuated with Sasuke back then. It made me think that maybe, he just may have liked me." She replied softly.

"Oh, sorry about that, Sakura-chan." He apologized with a light hug.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto-kun." She replied.

"Wait, did you just…?" He started to ask.

The pinkette answered with a smile on her face. "Yup, I did. Why, do you not want me to call you that?" She asked, a little worried that he didn't like that she was changing how she acted towards him so fast. But then again, this was Naruto after all, she had nothing to worry about.

"No, no, it's fine. It's more than fine! I like having you call me that. You can call me anything you want, Sakura-chan." He replied with a big Naruto smile.

"Well then how about if I call you my boyfriend?" She asked simply. The look on his face made the pinkette want to burst out laughing. She had never seen anyone's eyes widen that fast in her life. He looked like he was going to explode out of happiness.

"B-b-b-boyfriend?" He managed to stutter out.

"Well yeah, we both just confessed that we love each other, right?" She asked. He gave a nod in reply. "Then doesn't that mean we're dating?" She asked nonchalantly.

Before she could blink the pinkette found herself being picked up by Naruto and swung around in his arms. She couldn't help but yelp in surprise. He caught her completely off guard.

"N-Naruto-kun? Wha-what are you doing?" She managed to ask as she was being swung around in a circle by the blond who was smiling as he spun around.

He realized what he was doing and stopped spinning, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Sorry, Sakura-chan but you have no idea how long I've waited to hear that. I never thought that this day would ever come!" He exclaimed a little too loudly.

"So, is that a yes?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course it is!" He replied.

"Good, I was a little worried but I'm glad."

The two nin sat and talked for a few minutes before they decided that it was late and that they needed to be getting to bed since they needed to be getting up early. The two got up and got ready for bed.

oooOooo

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 **AN:** Remember to check out my poll for my new story on my profile.

* * *

 **(Naruto and Sakura POV, the next morning)**

The blond and pink haired ninja woke up just as the sun started to peek over the horizon. Luckily for the two of them they were woken by a call from the front desk letting them know that they would be arriving soon since neither of the two set their alarms before going to bed.

They took turns quickly dressing in the bathroom before gathering their key card and heading to the main lobby. Leaving their bags since they would be gathered by the staff and taken to their suite on the resort for them. Upon arriving at the lobby the two bumped into Rokuro and Sunada again. The four talked casually, trying to forget about the night before as they waited for the ship to dock at the port. Being the nice and polite people that they were, the four got shoved and pushed back towards the back of the line to depart the ship by the other guests.

It took about half an hour but the pair of ninja finally arrived on the island resort. Walking off the stairs onto the dock gave Naruto and Sakura their first look at the island. Needless to say that it exceeded all expectations that the two had. The beach was the first thing that caught the pinkette's attention. The sand was as white as snow. The water was a darkish, clean, almost too perfect looking blue. The trees and plants growing along the border of the sand and grass were like nothing she had ever seen before. The flowers were the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Ino's family's flower shop had nothing on even a single one of these. And the sky, the sky above the beach was a clear blue, only a few scattered wispy clouds could be seen on the horizon. Picturesque. That's how the beach looked. It was something from a postcard. She knew that she was only here for a mission but she could get used to staying here for the entire month long stay. This place looked like heaven on earth.

Checking into the resort was much like checking into the ship, meaning that the other guests complained, yelled and argued with the staff the entire time. The lobby was too hot, the line was talking too long, the fans on the ceiling were too loud. They complained about everything and anything. The two nin were still surprised seeing the young adults at the resort acting like spoiled children. It was if they had never been told 'no' before.

oooOooo

After another half an hour the pink and blond haired teens were being taken to their room by one of the resort staff. The man was talking about the resort and telling them where the beach, dining hall, ballroom, bar and everything were when the blond jinchuriki heard the slapping sound of sandals on the floor racing towards him from behind. But before he could fully turn around to look, he was tackled from the back and received a quick peck on his cheek and brought into a tight hug.

The pinkette saw this and turned to put whoever had the nerve to do that to her Naruto in their place but stopped when she recognized the woman who was hugging her crush.

"Koyuki-sama?" She asked in disbelief. The woman who was hugging Naruto was none other than Koyuki Kazahana. The former princess and current queen and ruler of the newly renamed Land of Spring which was previously the Land of Snow. This girl wasn't only a queen but also a famous and world renowned movie actress that team seven had met back in their genin days. Needless to say neither of the two ninja expected to run into her here of all places.

"Koyuki-sama?" Asked the blond, matching the confusion of Sakura. He turned and stretched his neck and shoulders to look behind him to see her.

"I knew it was you. I'd recognize that blond hair anywhere!" Said the slightly older woman with a smile as she let go of Naruto and brought Sakura in for a hug as well. "Hey, pinkie, how's it going? I missed you two."

"Pinkie?" Sakura asked softly as Koyuki let go of her and she leaned over to the blond.

"Hey, Naru-" She started but was interrupted when a large hand quickly covered her mouth.

"Shh!" Whispered Naruto under his breath before quickly shooting a glance to the staff member waiting patiently for them a few feet away. "We're undercover. Call me Yuuto."

Sakura worried that the queen wouldn't understand and accidentally blow their cover but she was surprised when she saw Koyuki give a slight nod and a wink before continuing after Naruto removed his hand from her mouth.

"Hey, Yuuto-kun, how's it going?" She asked casually. Sakura heard the '-kun' she said after his name, the pinkette's brows narrowed a little.

"Hey, Koyuki-sama. It's good to see you. We're doing great, Hana and I are just on vacation trying to have a good time. How about you?" Asked Naruto, trying to sound as casual as they could for the staff member just a few feet away and the other guests walking the halls next to them.

"Koyuki-sama?" Asked the Daimyo with a smile. "Why so formal, Yuuto-kun? Just call me Koyuki-chan, 'kay? And Hana, just call me Koyuki, lose the '-sama', it's too formal."

Naruto looked briefly at Sakura before looking back at Koyuki, a light blush was on his face from her close contact. She was holding on to his arm and leaning into his side, her chest pressed into him.

"Ah, of course, Koyuki-chan." He answered which received a smile from the queen.

"So Koyuki, what are you doing here? I thought that you'd be too busy being a Daimyo and an actress to be vacationing at a place like this." Asked the pinkette quickly, she was trying to get her to get off of Naruto.

"Oh I'm not here on vacation, I'm here filming a movie. The other side of the island is one of the best and most natural places to shoot since it's been mostly untouched." Answered the Daimyo as she let go of Naruto and gestured behind her to a guy with a camera in one hand a what was presumably her pink bag in the other hand.

"So you're not staying at the resort?" Asked Naruto.

"Actually I am. Since we're only going to be technically filming for a few days here I'm going to be staying at the resort and will take a break from filming and just be on vacation for the rest of the stay." She answered.

"Cool." Said the village hero.

"Hey Yuuto-kun?" Asked the queen to the blond.

"Yeah?"

"Did your friend ever give you the picture that I autographed for you?" She asked.

Naruto blushed slightly remembering the picture in which she took of him when he was passed out in the hospital and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Yeah, he did. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Oh it was no problem, anything for you, Yuuto-kun." She said with a suggestive wink.

Sakura cleared her throat loudly to get their attention. When Koyuki turned to look at the pinkette, Sakura gave her a 'watch yourself' look.

"Oh, sorry, Hana. Are you two dating?" Asked the black haired Daimyo with a passive aggressive tone.

"In fact we are, Koyuki." Said the medic as she stepped up to Naruto and linked her arm around his. "So I'd appreciate it if you get off of him and leave him alone." She said in a warning tone.

The two women glared at each other for a few seconds before Naruto tried to lighten the mood. "About the picture, Koyuki…"

"Yeah?"

"Did you have to use that picture? I look like an idiot asleep and all beat up like that." He complained.

The Daimyo let out a sly smile. "You didn't like it?" She asked.

Naruto waved his hand back and forth. "No, no, I loved the picture but I just don't like how I looked in it."

"Oh then do you want a new picture and autograph, Yuuto-kun?" She asked as a tick mark appeared on Sakura's forehead. What did she just say about leaving Naruto alone?

The blond's face lit up. "Really? Of course I'd like another autograph, Koyuki-chan."

"I figured you'd say that. Excuse me, Hana." She said as she pushed Sakura aside and grabbed onto Naruto again, pulling out her camera at the same time. The shorter woman rose up onto her toes and kissed Naruto on the cheek as she took a picture.

Steam was coming out of Sakura's ears as she watched Koyuki smile at the blushing hero as she signed his picture without showing him. The pinkette was going over the consequences of attacking a Daimyo as she stepped towards the two but was stopped when Koyuki let go of Naruto, handed him the picture and grabbed Sakura's lower arm softly.

"Hey, Hana, I need to go to the ladies room. Come join me, 'kay? I wanna talk to you in private." She asked as she pulled the pinkette away from her boyfriend as she saw a bright red blush on his face as he read the autograph. She'd have to make a mental note to see what she wrote on that picture later.

oooOooo

A minute later the two young women found themselves in the restroom. Sakura gave Koyuki a confused look as she closed the door behind them. "What's-." She started to ask but was interrupted by the Daimyo.

"Can you talk in here?" She asked.

The pinkette was confused for a few seconds before it clicked. "Oh, yeah. As far as we know the bathrooms aren't bugged."

"Bugged?" Asked the black haired actress.

"Yeah, we found some cameras in the rooms on the ship. We are assuming that there are cameras here on the resort as well."

"Is that why you and Naruto-kun are using fake names?"

"Yeah, we're undercover here on the resort investigating a smuggling ring lead by the owner of the resort and island." Explained the pinkette.

"Wow. Who's all here with you? Is your sensei and Sasuke here as well?" She asked.

Sakura shook her head. "No, Kakashi-sensei is the Hokage now so he doesn't go on missions, and Sasuke left the village a long time ago to travel the world."

"So you two are here alone?"

"No, two other groups are here with us acting as couples. Shikamaru is with Temari and Ino is with Sai." She explained.

" _Acting_ as couples?" Asked the Daimyo with a raised eyebrow. "So you and Naruto-kun aren't actually dating? It's just for your cover?" Koyuki asked.

The pinkette clenched her first and gritted her teeth. "No, we're actually dating."

"Awe man!" The black haired woman practically screamed. "That means that he's not fair game anymore. You had me going for a while there, pinkie, I thought that you were just saying that earlier because you were undercover."

The pinkette was about to open her mouth to say something when the two heard a beep and Koyuki took her phone out of her pocket and looked at it. "Hey, it's my director, I gotta go. But I'll be around after I'm done filming so let me know how I can help you guys out with figuring out the smuggling ring. I am a Daimyo after all, I've heard through the grapevine about it but didn't know much. I'll be happy to help."

She grabbed the doorknob and continued. "And say goodbye to Naruto-kun for me. And I know that he wants to be Hokage, but let him know if he ever wants to become the Daimyo of the Land of Spring then all he has to do is let me know, I'd be happy to take him up on the offer." She winked at Sakura before opening the door and disappearing into the hall.

Sakura let out a growl before heading out of the bathroom in search of Naruto and their room. "Why does every attractive girl in the world have to have a crush on him?" She asked to no one in particular.

"That baka doesn't even notice most of the time, it drives me crazy." The pinkette continued to talk to herself until she found Naruto and they let the resort staff member show them to their room. Considering the room that they had on the ship Sakura knew that their room for their month long stay on the resort would be nothing but amazing.

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 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys, thanks for reading. Sorry again that this chapter was so late. Please Review, Follow and Favorite. Please also go and check out the Poll on my profile.

The next chapter will be coming out in two weeks, so look forward to that. Thanks, Hephaestus.


	17. Ch17: An Island paradise Awaits

Author's Note:

(Uploaded 8/13/17)

Hey Everyone, sorry for the late upload. Work as usual was as hectic as it ever was. Honestly I could go on for hours about it. But I won't since that'd be really boring and not why you're here. This marks the first week of my new upload schedule and honestly, I hoped that it would've gone better. I was busy for the first week and I didn't start writing until late last Sunday. I had planned on getting more writing out since I had more time but I unfortunately couldn't. And I know that this chapter is shorter than usual and that it might be a little lacking in depth but I did the best I could with what I had. Sorry about that.

Poll: I put out a poll a while ago about ideas for a new series after this one. Now this one isn't close to being done but I just want to get the ideas out there so that people can have a say with my future stories. The poll is on my profile so please check it out if you're interested.

Please let me know how I'm doing so far. I've heard the reviews and I've started to speed the story up a bit, let me know if it's working or not. Also please let me know if you have any ideas for Ino/Sai's relationship. I find it extremely hard to write them as a couple. That was one of the reasons why this chapter got out late and is short, I didn't know how to do their stuff. Any ideas or advice would help, thanks.

But enough of my rambling, I know why you're all here. Please enjoy the latest chapter and let me know what you think with a Review.

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Chapter 17: An Island Paradise Awaits

 **(Early that morning - With Shikamaru and Temari)**

Waking up Shikamaru was greeted with a sight that honestly, he could get used to seeing every morning, even if it nearly gives him a heart attack each time. Opening his eyes to a mess of blonde hair and a weight on his chest, the lazy genius realized that Temari was laying half on him and half on the bed. With her head and mass of blonde hair on his chest and her upper body on his.

He couldn't help but smile, he knew that they just recently started dating after confessing to each other, but Shikamaru felt like they had been together for much longer. But he knew that no matter how long they were together that he would never get tired of waking up to this. To her. And he would've loved to stay like this for the rest of the entire day but they would be arriving at the resort early this morning so they would have to be getting up and ready soon.

So much to his own dismay he moved his hand out from under her and began to shake her shoulder to wake her up. "Hey, Tem. It's time to get up." He said softly, trying to wake her up as calmly as possible to not have to face her wrath if she woke up in a bad mood.

"Hhn." Temari mumbled out as Shikamaru gently shook her shoulder.

"Tem? Hello? It's time to get up." The Nara heir said in a lowered voice.

After a few seconds he heard a mumbled, indistinct response come from the mass of blonde hair in front on his face. "What? I can't understand you, Tem. It's time to get up."

Her wall of hair moved slightly to reveal her left eye and her nose. Groggily looking down to his face, she spoke again, this time clear enough to be understood.

"...No... I don't wanna..." She then proceeded to attempt to roll over and go back to sleep.

The black haired genius felt a 'troublesome' coming on. He loved this woman but she sure knew how to drive him crazy. How many times over the years had she lectured and berated him for being lazy and sleeping in? It had to be in the thousands by now at least. And now here she was doing the very thing which she yelled at him for time and again.

He shook her shoulder again, a little harder this time. "Come on, Tem. We have to start getting ready. We'll be at the resort in an hour." The Sand ninja didn't reply verbally this time, choosing instead to put a finger up to his lips, telling him to stop talking.

'Really?' He thought to himself. 'So, if that's how she wants to play it. Then fine.' The Nara heir then began to shake her shoulder harder in an attempt to get her to get up.

"Come on, Tem. I need to go to the bathroom. So can you please get off of me?" He almost begged after almost a full minute of shaking her shoulder.

"...Sorry, can't,... too comfy." She replied through her mass of hair.

"Troublesome." He muttered under his breath. "Tem, if you don't move then I'm going to have to move you. I _need_ to go to the bathroom."

"Ha, I'd like to see you try." She challenged softly, still trying to go back to sleep but found it hard when Shikamaru kept shaking her shoulder and started poking her in the face with his finger.

"Hey… cut it out." She warned.

"Then get off of me, Tem."

"Nope."

"Fine then…" He let it hang for a second to build suspense. After a few seconds he used one hand to attack the vulnerable skin just above her waist with a frenzy of tickles. Temari was so caught off guard that she nearly jumped a foot straight up from her lying position and let out a startled yelp. She grabbed his hand tightly to try to stop him from tickling her anymore, but the genius used his free hand to push the lying woman off of his chest and onto the bed next to him.

"Hey!" Said the mass of blonde hair. "That was a cheap trick. Tickling me isn't fair."

The Nara heir couldn't help but smile and laugh a little as he started to get off of the bed before stopping just long enough to give his girlfriend a peck on the cheek. "Morning, beautiful. Love you." He smiled as he made a beeline to the bathroom, to both get out of there as fast as possible just in case his compliment wasn't enough, and secondly because he really needed to pee.

The blonde haired woman was left with a shocked look on her face. Since when did he kiss her? And since when did he just call her 'beautiful' casually like that? What was she supposed to do now? She was going to make him pay for pushing her off of him like that but she couldn't stay mad at him now that he made her smile and blush like that.

"Damn that Nara." She mumbled to herself as she rose from the bed. "I can't even stay mad at him for long. He's too cute for his own good."

The rest of their brief time getting ready to depart the ship went as one would expect. Besides the casual and lighthearted joke or jab at the other nothing of note really happened as they got ready. That is, until the black haired genius remembered something critical to their cover.

"Hey, Tem." Shikamaru said suddenly as the two were about to leave their room and head to the lobby.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Hold on, I have something I need to give you." He answered as he kneeled down and dug through a small suitcase. Temari gave him a confused look and after a few seconds he pulled out a small black box.

Still kneeling down the Nara heir reached up and handed her the small box. "Here you go, Tem. Make sure to wear it for the entire mission." He added as he began to close up his suitcase.

The blonde spied the block box in her hand suspiciously. It couldn't be what she thought, could it? Wearily, Temari opened the box and gasped when a beautiful diamond ring greeted her.

"Whaaa! Shika, what is this?" She asked. Said Nara gave her a confused look.

"It's a ring. Why, you don't like it?" He asked, a little confused.

"Huh? Of course I like it, it's… it's just that… that I know that you're lazy and all, and that you think everything is troublesome, but you could've put a little more effort into it." She replied with a little shake of her head. Giving him her best disappointed look.

"What?"

"I mean you just handed it to me all casually. I mean, come on. Worst. Proposal. Ever. You've gotta try harder, Shika." She answered with her best attempt at looking serious and disappointed but was having a hard time not bursting at the seams laughing.

It took the Nara heir approximately three seconds to figure out what his girlfriend was talking about and when he did, Temari burst out laughing when she saw his face turn his unique shade of red as he tried his best to stutter out a response but couldn't.

"What? I, no- I didn't, wait, you're-" He tried to explain himself but Temari was too busy laughing at him to listen.

"Oh, Shika, you should see the look on your face! It's so red!" She laughed out in between breaths.

"Why do you always have to mess with me like that?" He managed to get out. "You love driving me crazy, don't you?"

"Yup." She replied quickly. "And don't blame me, you're the one who just randomly decided to hand me a ring. It was in the box and you were on one knee and everything. How was I supposed to react?" She asked, one eyebrow raised.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to speak but closed it before saying anything, much to the delight of his girlfriend. "So why did you just give me this ring, it's nice and all but if you're not proposing…" She let it hang.

"Oh yeah." He said as he stood up and reached for the door. "We're playing a married couple, right? So don't we need rings for our cover?" He asked. His hand on the door.

"That makes sense. But why did you wait until now to give me the ring?" She asked.

He gave an apologetic smile. "Well uh,... that's because I kinda forgot about them, sorry." He admitted.

"Don't worry about it, babe. The resort is waiting, let's go!" She said a little too loudly for his taste as she did a small fist bump to the sky. When Shikamaru gave her a strange look she lowered her arm and seemed a little embarrassed.

"Hey, don't give me that look, Shika. I grew up in the desert. I didn't get to see the ocean until I was an adult, and that was during the war so it didn't count. I for one am looking forward to our vacation here." She said with a smile.

"It's not a vacation." He corrected. "It's-"

"A crucial mission that could save the lives of thousands of people. One that we should not take lightly. For it is our duty as shinobi to blah blah blah, I know. Jeez, buzzkill much?" She interrupted him, repeating his words from earlier and mocking him a bit as she attempted to impersonate him. Lowering her voice and talking in an overly monotone way.

Shikamaru just stood there for a second before burying his head in his hands. "I'd normally be insulted right now but that… that was just too funny." He ended with a soft laugh that made Temari laugh as well.

"Come on, Tem. Let's go, we don't want to be the last ones there." He tried his best to stop laughing as he held the door for his girlfriend as they left their room.

oooOooo

 **(Later that day with Shikamaru and Temari)**

Oh how Temari wished that she was here for just a vacation and not a mission. Because… she could get used to this. After arriving at the island resort, the couples were shown around the beach and resort for a quick tour. Needless to say that the island left the Sand ninja breathless, the white sand and blue water beaches were worth the entire trip themselves. That is, until she and Shikamaru were shown their room.

The 'room' turned out to be a free-standing, over water villa that stood on four tall pillars that reached up from the sandy bottom of the lagoon to the bottoms of the villa. Outside, the villa sported one large balcony that hung over the side of the water. An infinity pool was the main centerpiece, with two lounge chairs, a few tables, a loveseat and a double lounge chair for the couples to share, all covered by elegant blue umbrellas to protect the guests from the day's heat. The villa stood two stories in total, with the bottom floor containing the lounge, kitchen, dining room, a small library with a few couches, a bathroom, and even an extra room set aside for couples massages that were offered in the privacy of their own villa. With the main rooms having a glass floor which allowed for the guests to view the water and the exotic, tropical fish swimming below in the crystal clear water. The top floor, which was only half the length of the bottom, contained the master bedroom, its bathroom and walk-in closet, another lounge and an observation room with a domed, glass roof that contrasted the natural thatch roof of the rest of the villa. Inside the observation room sat a small telescope that could be used at night if the couple wished to stargaze away from the lights of the island and the resort that was just out of view.

Each villa was at least twenty or so feet away from another. The villas were connected to a long, winding, almost natural looking walkway that stood above the water on stilts. The villas lined each side of the walkway but each master bedroom was faced outwards so that from their window one could only see the ocean.

Temari wanted to cry when she entered their villa. She still couldn't believe that this was where she and here boyfriend were going to be spending an entire month. It was so romantic! Even someone like Shikamaru had to admit that.

The couple found their luggage already in their bedroom when they arrived. They spent some time unpacking their belongings, all the while having to keep pinching themselves to make sure that they weren't asleep. Their villa was almost too good to be true. After some time Shikamaru carefully walked through the entire villa in search of cameras. He insisted that Temari didn't help since a woman was most likely to be watched instead of a male. In total he found one in each room, excluding the bathroom. Just like on the ship.

After settling the young couple left their villa for the month and headed down the walkway to the island resort in search of the beach.

oooOooo

After spending almost their entire day at the beach, the young couple headed to the dining area of the resort for diner. In total, the resort boasted a dozen unique and luxurious restaurants all along the beach in clear view of the water. After a few minutes of debate the young couple decided that they would be adventurous and dine at a restaurant that boasted a wide variety of seafood. With Temari growing up in the desert she had never had the chance to eat as much seafood as she would've liked. Shikamaru on the other hand never really liked it very much but decided to give in when Temari almost begged to eat there for dinner.

Everything was going fine at dinner, Shikamaru and Temari were having the time of their lives eating the local seafood and drinking a lot of alcohol when from the other table Temari heard something that caught her interest. Taking her thoughts away from the almost tipsy Nara heir in front of her trying to build up the courage to try the octopus in front of him.

"So when's the meeting?" One man with an obviously drunk date asked another man seated at the bar next to him.

"It's at eleven." The other man answered quietly before continuing under his breath. "But it's members only, so ditch the broad."

"I know." Said the first man. "See you then." The second man and his date got up and left the restaurant without saying anything.

Turning her attention back to her boyfriend Temari made sure to speak softly enough that no one could hear her. "Did you hear that, Riku?"

"Huh?" Asked the genius as he poked the octopus with his chopsticks.

"The guy at the bar, he was talking to another guy about a 'meeting' tonight at eleven." She answered.

"You think it's the ring?" He asked seriously, his smile gone and his messing with his food abandoned.

"Most likely. What other 'meeting' could be going on around here at eleven at night?"

"Did you hear where it would be taking place?" The Nara heir asked as he took a small drink of his fruity, alcoholic beverage.

"No." She answered a little peeved. "They didn't say where it was."

Temari watched as her boyfriend eyed the man behind her at the bar causally. "How do you wanna proceed, Riku?" She asked, secretly wishing that they would stay and finish dinner. The blonde was having too much fun having dinner with her boyfriend to want to stop.

Temari could see him think for a few seconds before answering. "I say that we do nothing for now. It's too early to do anything yet. We haven't even made contact with the others yet. I hope that Ichika contacts us all tonight so we can tell the others." He paused when another couple walked by. He continued when they were at a safe distance away.

"For the time being we should just focus on gathering more information and befriending some of the guests so that we can get said information. We can't risk just following the man to who knows where. The entire resort could be under surveillance for all we know. We'll have to be even more careful than we thought before."

He took another sip of his drink as Temari casually ate some of her sushi. Both to keep up their cover and mostly because she found it irresistible. "So we're going to wait to make a move?" She asked and received a nod in reply.

"Fine by me, I was looking forward to finishing dinner and going back to the villa and having a little _fun_." She winked after her not so subtle imply.

Shikamaru's face became the expected red shade that she loved. She found it hilarious that someone like him who never showed much emotion could get so worked up over something so little.

"Tem!" He said before receiving a look from his girlfriend. He forgot to use her undercover name.

"Yui." He corrected himself before raising an eyebrow. "And what makes you think that we'll be doing that tonight?" He asked with a tone that she didn't expect. Normally he never played along when she joked like this. It surprised her to say the least. But she made sure to play it off, she couldn't give him the pleasure to know that he caught her off guard like that.

The blonde took a sip of her drink before gesturing to his own drink. "I'd say the five pina coladas that you had at the beach. And those on top of whatever you're drinking now."

"Oh? And you think that because I'm drinking that I'll just go along with your plan?" He asked, taking another sip of his drink as if saying that he wasn't afraid to keep drinking.

"Exactly. That, and my feminine wiles of course. That was my plan all along." She winked playfully.

He gave her a deadpanned look. "I… I don't know what to say." He confessed.

"Just say 'yes'. It's that easy."

His expression turned a little more serious. "Well I already told you that it's too early. We should at least wait until we finish up here and get home."

Sighing, the blonde mentally hit her boyfriend upside the head. He could be a buzzkill sometimes but even she had to agree that it was probably better to wait to take that step. Probably.

"Fine, whatever you say, babe." She winked. "But don't blame me if you find yourself sleeping on the couch tonight." She joked. She knew that no matter how much alcohol he consumed that he was far too uptight to ever let himself get drunk enough to do anything like that.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru uttered under his breath. "Whatever, let's just get back to eating so we can head back to our villa and get some sleep. The sun out here drains my energy more than anything, I'm seriously exhausted." He complained.

"Wimp." She jabbed at him. "If this amount of sun and heat gets to you then I don't want to see how you'd react to my home. You'd better get used to the heat if you ever want to visit me. Because you wouldn't last a day there now as it is."

Smiling at her playful insult, the Nara heir continued their causal small talk as they finished their dinner and headed to their villa for the night.

oooOooo

 **(Earlier that day with Ino and Sai)**

The blonde beauty of the Leaf looked out the window of her and Sai's bedroom for the next month for a few seconds before quickly closing the curtains. Walking over and basically plopping herself on the large bed Ino felt like her head was about to explode. So much had happened in such a short time. First, Sai, the last person that she would ever had expected, confessed that he liked her at least. Ino wasn't convinced either way if even he knew if he loved her. And if that wasn't enough for one mind to bear, Ino had confessed her love to Naruto the night before. And had gotten rejected worse than she ever had thought possible.

The blonde beauty knew that it wasn't his fault he didn't love her. She knew deep down that he loved Sakura. She knew it from day one. Her friend, her rival, he loved her. She also knew that there was nothing that she could do about it. After her long shower she had gone to bed but didn't sleep. Choosing instead to lay awake and think about everything that had happened. Ino was sure that never before had she ever thought so much in her entire life.

She thought about Sai and if she should even start to think about if she should give what he said more thought. She had just been rejected you the man whom she was convinced that she loved and was destined to be with. Needless to say that she wasn't ready to even start thinking about another romantic relationship.

Laying on her back staring at the ceiling Ino was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the bedroom door. Before she could say anything the door opened to reveal a shirtless Sai in his swim trunks with a towel in hand. He stepped in and stopped when he saw her laying on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Ino. I was unaware that you were in here." He said, ever monotone.

The blonde sat up and glanced at his sunburned skin. "Were you sunbathing?" She asked, she doubted it but this was Sai, nothing he did was normal.

Said pale ninja gave a confused look before looking down to his chest and arms. Sure enough his usual pale skin had been attacked by the sun and he had been left with a severe sunburn.

"No, not purposely anyway. I was actually trying to meditate outside on the balcony by the pool." He poked his sunburned arm and winced a little at the redness. "I suppose that I should have put on some sunscreen and sat in the shade." He said as he walked through the room to the dresser and pulled out a fresh shirt.

The blonde watched as his usual stoic face winced at the slight pain of his sensitive skin against his shirt. A thought suddenly popped into her head that she didn't expect or know why she even considered. Not being able to shake the thought she spoke up.

"Hey, Sai, does, does that hurt a lot?" She asked.

Said sunburned ninja turned to look at her with an unknown look in his eye. "Somewhat. It doesn't really hurt very much but it is very uncomfortable." He answered.

The blonde gave him a look and a raised eyebrow. She didn't believe him. Not one bit. "You can't lie to me, Sai. I'm part of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force, remember? I've been taught to spot a lie a mile away since I was a little girl." She could see that he was caught off guard by her being able to see through his lie so easily.

"If it hurts then just say so, 'kay? I'm a medic remember? I may not be anywhere near Sakura's level but even I can help with something as simple as a sunburn."

Sai looked at her for a few seconds before answering. "You are correct. The sunburn does hurt. But you do not have to help, I will be fine."

"Fine my ass." She snorted. "Look at yourself, Sai. You're the palest guy in the village, if you don't take of your sunburn then it's going to peel and be really irritating for a few days."

She rose from the bed and picked up one of her small bags. "Now get over here so I can help your stubborn butt before I change my mind." She ordered. Quickly Sai complied and walked over next to her, sitting on the bed beside her.

"Are you sure, Ino? You were obviously deep in thought when I came in. I do not want to be interrupting you if you would rather be alone right now." He questioned. Again Ino was left with the look of shock and surprise on her face. How did he once again read her so easily? This was Sai, he wasn't supposed to be good at reading someone's emotions. So how, how was he able to read her so easily?

Realizing that she had been zoning out staring at him for a few seconds she quickly sat up straighter. "No, no, it's fine, Sai. I uh, could actually use someone to talk to right now. My head feels like it's about to explode at the moment and I feel that I need to get everything off of my chest."

"You are referring to the incident involving you and Naruto." He stated, it wasn't a question, he knew.

"Yeah…" She didn't know where to start, she had so much going on inside her head at the moment and she didn't know what to do. A part of her wished that someone else besides Sai was with her at the moment. As much as she hated herself for thinking that, he was trying his best to help. He just wasn't the best person to talk to about emotions and feelings, a part of Ino wished to talk to Sakura, she was her oldest friend, and as such they shared no secrets and could talk to each other about anything. But as much as she wished that she could, she knew that she couldn't. Sakura was a part of the reason why she was feeling like this. The blonde also didn't know how they stood at the moment. She hoped that Sakura didn't hate her for kissing Naruto yesterday and confessing her love to him.

Ino let out a sigh, no one was here except Sai. So no one could help her at the moment but Sai. A small part of her was happy that he was here and willing to help her. She knew that he had a tough time showing it but he could tell that he at least cared for her a bit. And that made the blonde smile a little as she helped Sai with applying lotion on his back to help with the sunburn.

The two Leaf shinobi talked for awhile after Ino helped Sai with his sunburn. Correction, Ino did most of if not all of the talking. And she knew that Sai was okay with that. He let her talk her ear off for a few hours about everything and anything that was going on inside her mind. Everything from her feelings for Naruto to how beautiful the resort was.

While talking to Sai about Naruto Ino didn't realize that she started to cry until Sai handed her a tissue. The simple gesture shocked the blonde, sure giving her a tissue when she was crying was a small thing, but for Sai, it was a big leap of character for him. But the thing that shocked the most was when he wordlessly leaned over to her after handing her the tissue and lightly hugged her.

Ino didn't know what to say. This was Sai, everything about him screamed that he wasn't good with these kinds of things, but now, Ino knew that she was wrong to judge. The hug was brief, a bit awkward since it was painfully obvious that he had never done this before and that he didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. But when he pulled away Ino thanked him with a soft smile.

"I am sorry, Ino. I know that I shouldn't have hugged you without permission first but… you seemed that you needed a hug. I am sor-." She interrupted him with another smile.

"There's no need to apologize, Sai. You were right, I needed that. Thanks."

Positioning herself so that she was seated shoulder to shoulder to him Ino leaned a bit on his shoulder. She could tell by the look on his face that he was a bit uncomfortable and didn't know what to do but she didn't care. Right now she needed a shoulder to cry on, literally.

And cry she did. Ino was sure that she never had cried that much in her life. Her mind was swirling and threatening to implode at any moment. She had no idea what to do. She knew that Sai liked her and she didn't want to trick him or give him false hope in a relationship but she needed someone to talk to. She needed someone to vent all of her frustrations onto. So after an hour of literal crying on his shoulder Ino managed to pull herself together long enough to clean herself up and change for dinner.

Ino decided that it best to go out to one of the many restaurants for dinner to get some fresh air and to take her mind off of everything. They could've easily just called the resort and had a chef and server come and prepare dinner for them in their villa put Ino wanted to get out and see the resort. Plus, a part of her was sorry for keeping Sai in all day and burdening him with everything going on in her mind. She knew that she wouldn't be paying for it but she did want to treat him to a nice dinner as thanks. It was the least she could do.

oooOooo

 **(Late that night with Ino and Sai)**

As Ino and Sai were heading into the restaurant they ran into Shikamaru and Temari on their way out. At first glance everything looked normal but Ino swore that she saw them holding hands as they were walking in. Since when were they a thing? She'd have to remember to grill Shikamaru later about it. She was the gossip queen of Konoha after all, if something was going on between them then she had to know.

Ino almost missed it since she was busy watching them, but Shikamaru gave her a discreet hand sign that told her to use her Mind Jutsu to contact them. Realizing what he meant the blonde beauty of the Leaf gave him a brief nod as he left with Temari.

After their wonderful dinner Ino and Sai headed back to their villa just as the sun was going down behind the horizon. Remembering that she needed to contact the others Ino sat down on the bed after changing into her sleeping wear and mentally contacted the others. All the while trying to look causal so that whoever was watching wouldn't suspect anything.

" _Can everyone hear me? Shikamaru? Temari? Sakura? ...Naruto?"_ The blonde asked via her Mind Jutsu. She hoped beyond anything that the others wouldn't be able to feel her nerves about talking to Naruto.

" _I can hear you loud and clear."_ Answered Temari of the Sand.

" _I hear you."_ Said Shikamaru.

" _I read you."_ Replied Sakura.

" _...Same here."_ Ino could literally feel the uneasiness when Naruto answered. He clearly was still bothered about what happened.

" _That's good."_ Ino said back. " _I have Sai next to me and he can hear what is going on. We're playing it off as if we're having a conversation for the cameras."_

" _Speaking of the cameras, how did the search go for them? Naruto and I didn't have much time to look for them, we uh… spent most of our time at the beach. We didn't look for any in the villa."_ A certain pinkette said.

" _I looked for the cameras, Sakura. And I found one in each room of our villa, excluding the bathroom. But every other room had one. And as with the ship I found no microphones anywhere. So we are free to talk as we like but we must still act for the cameras."_ Shikamaru said in their minds.

" _Shika, we should tell them what I overheard at dinner."_ Temari said to her boyfriend.

" _Right, Tem overheard two men talking about a 'meeting' going on tonight at eleven. Besides the fact that they said that is members only we have nothing to go on."_

" _So we're not going to do anything tonight?"_ Naruto asked.

" _That is correct. It is too early to do anything as of yet. We don't have any information to go off of. The entire meeting area could be under video surveillance and their could be armed guards as well. Before we make any move we need to have more information."_ Shikamaru explained.

" _If no one has anything else to say then this meeting is over. We cannot allow whoever is watching us to see us just sitting here staring at the wall while we're having telepathic conversations. We look like we're mental."_ Shikamaru finished and no one brought anything up so the blonde cut the mind link and started to collect her things to get read for her shower.

After her shower, Ino got ready for bed and was surprised to find Sai already in bed and asleep. He was passed out cold as far as she could tell. She had to push him over a bit since he was laying on her side of the bed. Laying down next to the pale ninja Ino couldn't help but notice something. At a certain angle, given the right lighting… he looked kinda… cute.

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Author's Note:

Thanks for reading, please leave a **Review** , **Follow** and **Favorite**. Me like it when you do that. Please also check out the **Poll** when you're done here. Thanks.


	18. Ch18: Hot Springs

Chapter 18: Hot Springs

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey everyone, sorry about the late upload but my internet sucked today and even though I planned to send today writing I ended up spending half the day hanging out with my dad. Family comes first so sorry about that. We saw the movie 'It' in case you're wondering. Personally I didn't think it was very scary. Going into it I expected a lot worse. It was a great movie, don't get me wrong, I just wasn't too scared of it. Let me know if you saw it and what you thought of it.**

 **Anyway, I go into a little more detail about why this chapter is late and short at the end but I gave the fullest explanation why I have been missing in an Author's Note/Update chapter that this chapter is replacing. So sorry if your review is deleted because of it. I plan on releasing the next chapter two(2) weeks from now, on Saturday the 30th/Sunday the 1st, depending on time zones and what not. Next chapter will be more NaruSaku moments that will lead into a group event that will include all the couples. But no spoilers. I wanted to make the chapter longer and include the NaruSaku stuff but my internet keeps disconnecting every few minutes and I can't write like that. This portion here was a pain to write as it was.**

 **Also thanks to everyone who showed support for this story and also those who offered emotional support and someone to talk to just in case I was having problems. I'm glad to say that nothing is wrong, I am just lacking motivation at the time.**

 **Enough of my babbling, without further ado here is the next chapter of Naruto: A Mission of Love.**

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Chapter 18: Hot Springs

 **(A few days later with Sakura)**

It has been five whole days since the six undercover ninja have arrived at the resort. And in that time they had grown accustomed to their new temporary life as their undercover identities. Not a second had gone by that could be considered boring or dull. The resort's boast about having activities twentyfour-seven for the guests to spend their time was not an exaggeration in the slightest. All Sakura had to do was contact the resort's event coordinator and not a half an hour later her and Naruto would be at the beach for an event, at a dance or on a nature walk through the untouched jungle surrounding them. Almost all of Sakura's time had been spent at one of these events with her Naruto. But today, she was the hot springs with some of her girlfriends to enjoy being treated like royalty and being pampered all they wanted. But even though she had spent almost every other moment with him since arriving at the resort the pinkette couldn't get him off her mind. Today wasn't just any old day, today was his birthday. And the medic nin had been stressing over this for the last few days over not being able to figure out what to do for it. So she decided to try to casually bring it up in conversation when she was relaxing in the hot springs with her friends.

"It's Yuuto's birthday today." The pinkette tried to sound like she was just making small talk when Sunada sat next to her in the water.

"Oh it is, isn't it?" She asked as she made herself comfortable. "Have you put any thought into what you're going to do for it? The last time you mentioned it you said that you didn't have an idea yet."

"I don't." Sakura confessed. "And that's the problem, I'm wanting to do something tonight with him but I don't know what." The pinkette looked to her friends around her, wordlessly asking for help. Seated in and around the small natural hot springs were Sakura, Sunada whom she and Naruto met their first night aboard the ship, Temari who was pretending to be Yui at the moment, Olive Alasdair the slightly older women who quickly befriended the pinkette and her friends the first night. Along with Koyuki Kazahana who decided to wrap her shooting up early to join her friends. And Ino, who had recently just started talking to Sakura again. And knowing what happened between her and Naruto, Sakura was glad that her friend and rival didn't seem to hold any grudge whatsoever. Along with a few of the other gests that were also enjoying the water that she didn't know.

"The thing is." Sakura continued. "Whatever we do here it'll just feel like normal. You know? We've already had dinner together, gone to a dance and everything in between. I want to do something special for it but I don't know what. We've already done everything there is to do." The pinkette normally wouldn't have stressed this much over his birthday, but this birthday was different. They had just recently confessed their feelings for each other just before they arrived on the resort, so she wanted to do something special for her… Pausing for a second, Sakura didn't know what to call him. Yes they had confessed their feelings for each other and had kissed a good amount the first night and later in bed but neither of them had said it. Were they dating? They were, weren't they? Surely they were, right?

"I have a suggestion, Pinkie." Said Koyuki fromt he other side of the small hot spring. A tick mark appeared on Sakura's forehead at her accursed nickname. "Why don't you and Whiskers just do it. I mean, you haven't yet, right? You have to know that he'd love it." The Daimyo said with a straight face.

"Koyuki-san!" Said Sunada, her face going a little red. "You can't just say that. That's personal and between them what they do."

"Oh what about it? You know I'm right." She said turning to Sakura. "You guys are here after all. One of the most beautiful resorts in the world. You should at least enjoy your time here." Koyuki then gave her a knowing look. She knew about the importance of the mission but she was right, then should at least enjoy their time on the resort.

The only problem for the pinkette being how to enjoy their time. Yes she wanted to do something special for his birthday but she just wasn't ready for _that_ yet. They hadn't even been a thing, whatever they were calling it, for a week yet. Yes she was more than fine getting speckled by kisses by her favorite blond whenever they were alone, but she wasn't ready for him to do anything more, let alone give him access between her legs.

The pinkette let out a sigh as she more or less ignored the small talk going on around her, she had bigger things to worry about. The medic sat relaxing in the hot water for a few more minutes thinking about how she and Naruto stood, were they dating even if neither of them said it? Should she ask about it later tonight or just let it go? She had no idea. The pinkette was suddenly shaken from her thoughts by the sound of her name, her undercover name, that is.

"Hana, hello? Can you hear me?" Came the voice of the slightly older woman, Olive.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just lost in thought." Sakura apologized.

"I could tell." Said the foreign woman as she sat down next to the pinkette. "You're really stressing over what to get Yuuto, aren't you?"She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, I am. The problem is that right now… we're hitting a…" She paused, searching for the word. "...Milestone, in our relationship, and I just don't know what would be right for it. I don't want to do something boring and dull and disappoint him."

"But you don't want to do anything extravagant either, am I correct?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's the problem. I just don't know what to do. I'm worried that if I do something stupid now then he'll… I don't know, get upset or something." The medic nin admitted. She was having a tough time not saying anything, to Olive her and Naruto had been together for a few short years, but in actuality it had only been five days.

The cream skinned woman gave the pinkette a look like she didn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you actually worried about that, Hana?" She asked. Sakura had a confused look on her face so she explained.

"I've seen how Yuuto's acted around you the past few days since we met. He absolutely adores you. He'd never get upset or angry at you. That, my friend, is as clear as day."

"Really?" The pinkette asked softly.

"Of course. Take it from someone who's been married for awhile. That boy loves you. Everyone can tell. So don't be so worried about disappointing him, it'll make his day just being able to spend some time with you." She finished with a smile. "Trust me."

"You're right. I'm just… I'm worried is all." The pink haired girl admitted. "I just don't know what to do for tonight."

"Can I offer a suggestion?" Olive asked as she sunk into the water a few more inches.

"Yes, please." Sakura found she was nodding her head like a madman. She was in desperate need for some ideas at the moment.

"It's something that Gordon and I have done for the past few years actually. Every month we set aside one day to have a date night. Nothing too elaborate, mind you, even though we could easily just go out for dinner or such, we decided to spend the night at home, together, and with no distractions. We give the staff the night off and just enjoy each other's company." The slightly older woman smiled as if she was remembering the days.

"We do nothing too special really, we eat some dinner and then watch a movie together on the couch in the dark." Olive chuckled a little. "I know that it may seem a little silly of us, and not something too common for someone of our status, but I wasn't born into a noble family like my husband was. I actually got the idea from my parents who always had a date night each month, regardless of how busy or trivial it may seem. They always made time for each other. Sometimes they would have to lock my siblings and I in a room for an hour so they could have dinner in peace. Those days seem so long ago now." Olive blinked a few times, as if she was just now realizing where she was.

"My apologies, Hana, I waffled on for a while there, didn't I?"

"No, no. Don't worry about it. Actually, I love your idea of just spending the night with Yuuto in our villa. And I'm sure that he would love it as well."

"I know he will. So don't worry about it, that boy loves you, so you don't need to keep doubting yourself all the time. It's not healthy."

"Thanks for the advice, Olive."

"It's not a problem, my dear. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be getting out. Gordon wanted to get some lunch together." Olive said standing up and reaching for her towel.

"I'm going to be getting out as well." Sunada said. "I'll see you all later."

"Goodbye." Sakura said to the pair.

"Later." Ino waved.

"Thank you both for coming." Temari said.

"See ya." Koyuki smiled. "I think we're going to stay for a while."

The pair left and not so long after the other unknown guests left the hot springs as well, leaving only Sakura, Ino, Temari and Koyuki in the area.

And as soon as the last guest closed the door to leave, Ino spun around to Temari in the blink of an eye and started firing questions at her.

"I saw you with Shikamaru at the beach yesterday, you _kissed_ him! You two are _totally_ dating, aren't you? How long have you two been together? And when exactly were you planning on telling me? I knew that he liked you, I told you, didn't I? So, how'd it happen? How'd he tell you how he felt?"

The Sand ninja went red in the face at the accusatory questions. "No no no no no no no no! That's not, I mean... we, uh… I didn't-" Temari was waving her hands in front of her face like mad.

"You two _are_ dating, aren't you?" She asked again.

"Leave her alone, Ino. It's none of your business." The pinkette said.

"I think it's kind of cute." Koyuki said to the three slightly younger girls. "Both _you_ and Temari are dating your partners now. Awe, young love." The Daimyo said with the hint of evil in her eye, she knew how the group would react to the news.

"What?" Temari of the Sand asked. "Sakura and Naruto?"

"Wait, you and Naruto are…" Ino turned to her best friend and the pinkette nodded slightly. "I'm happy for you two, really, I am. You deserve it, forehead." The Yamanaka heir said truthfully.

"Thanks, Ino-pig." Sakura smiled to her friend.

Ino moved over closer to Sakura in the water. "Listen, Sakura, I'm sorry about-"

"Don't worry about it, Ino. I'm over it, let's just put it past us, okay?"

Sakura could see tears start to form at the corners of her friend's eyes. "Thanks, Sakura. I didn't want what happened with Naruto to push us apart."

"Don't worry about it, Ino. No way am I going to let another guy come between us and ruin our friendship." Sakura said honestly. She was just happy that Ino had gotten around to talking to her again after what happened. Sakura had forgiven her easily and didn't hold any ill feeling for her friend about what she did to Naruto.

"Thanks, Forehead."

"No problem, Ino-pig."

"Awe, isn't that sweet?" Koyuki said sarcastically. "But aren't we here to talk about the information we gathered about the ring?"

"You're right, Koyuki." The pinkette admitted. "We can talk about our personal relationships, later. Right now we need to figure out how to get close to the ring."

"Awe man." Complained Ino. "I wanted to hear about Temari and my lazy teammate."

"I'll tell you about it later, Ino." The Sand ninja said.

"Koyuki, did you find anything for us?" Sakura asked as she turned to her.

"Yup." She said with a smile. "I followed a few known members of the ring yesterday to their meeting. I wasn't able to get in but I did happen to get some information out of one of the guards."

"How?" Temari asked.

"Oh it was easy, all I had to do was bat my eyelashes a little and he answered all of my questions." She said as she dramatically flipped her hair back.

"So what did you get?" Ino asked.

"He told me that if I wanted to join then I'd have to talk to Shou Hiroto about it. Apparently he's the only one who can talk his perv of an uncle into letting people into the group."

A groan was heard from Sakura at the mention of Shou's name. "That guy? Why'd it have to be him of all people?"

"That's the guy who grabbed you back before we got on the ship, right, Sakura?" Temari asked.

"The one and only. I'm not looking forward to having to get close to him." She shivered a little. "That guy gives me the creeps."

"I know what you mean, Forehead." Ino added. "But if it's the only way then we'll just have to deal with it."

"I have an idea." Temari said. "I don't like to admit it, since I don't exactly agree with how we are treated here, but I think that it would be best if we let the boys talk to Shou."

"Why?" Asked Ino.

"Well you've seen how women are treated here, we aren't taken seriously in this part of the world, _especially_ around these people. So it might be best to let Naruto or Shika talk to Shou on our behalf."

"Why Naruto?" Questioned Sakura. "He's not exactly the best at deception."

"But he is the best at quickly befriending people." Temari reminded her. "I know that he and Shou are constantly at each other's throats, or at least Shou is, but Naruto has the uncanny ability to drop anyone's defenses. Shika might be able to easily get inside of Shou's head and manipulate him, but he's not the best talker, at least for this sort of thing."

"I agree with Temari there. "The Daimyo said. "I've spent a lot of time around people like these, so I know how they think. Guys like these, especially ones like Shou will only listen to and acknowledge people who they respect."

"But how are we going to be able to get him to respect Naruto? Shou thinks that Naruto has a thing for his girlfriend _Niwa_." Sakura said. Saying her name like a slur.

"With these upper class guys you have to prove yourself to them. We need to have Naruto beat him at his own game." Koyuki explained.

"But hasn't Naruto already beaten him, like a few times?" Temari asked. "Shou tries to pick a fight with him every time but he just keeps getting his butt handed to him by Naruto."

"I don't know then." Koyuki admitted. "We'll just have to get closer to him to try to figure that out."

"Sounds fun." The pinkette said sarcastically.

"If we're done then I'm going to get out, we've been in here for awhile and I feel like I'm getting lightheaded." Temari of the Sand said.

"That's all I got." Koyuki said. "We can talk tomorrow about ideas for getting closer to Shou. How about we meet up at the bar instead so the guys can join us?"

"Sounds good to me." The blonde beauty of the Leaf said.

"I'll let Naruto know." Agreed Sakura.

oooOooo

 **(A few hours later with Sakura and Naruto)**

It was a few hours since Sakura and the others left the hot springs, in that time, she and Ino went to one of the smaller restaurants on the beach for lunch. Where Sakura got Ino up to date with everything that happened with her and Naruto. Even though not much had happened after their confessions that night, Sakura happily filled her best friend in on how they were doing.

And as she was walking back to their villa, said pinkette could see the blond young man sitting on their deck besides the hot tub. He appeared to be meditating in a cross legged position on the wooden boards. The pinkette eyed him as she walked closer to the villa, the reason being that he was currently shirtless. Even though she was still a good distance away, she could see the faint outlines of his muscular body.

Blushing a little, Sakura pushed her thoughts away. 'He's turning me into a pervert.' She thought. 'And I'm actually slightly okay with that.'

The pinkette walked into their shared villa and headed to the deck where Naruto was, with the intention of sneaking up behind him and scaring him. Placing her bag down in the living room softly and slowly making her way to him while walking on her tip toes, Sakura got within a foot of him and stopped. Ready to yell and make him pee his pants, the pinkette went to open her mouth when another voice appeared and made her jump in the air and let out a little yelp.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Naruto said.

"Eeep!" The medic shrieked as she stepped back.

"Eeep?" The blond haired teen asked, still in his meditative pose with his eyes closed. "What am I, a mouse?"

"Don't do that, Naruto." She scolded. "You scared me."

"But you were about to do the same exact thing." He pointed out.

"Oh yeah, well… whatever." She said playing it off. "Wait, how did you know I was behind you? I'm way better at stealth than you, no offense."

"I could sense your chakra coming up behind me." He said simply.

"Oh." Said the medic. "Why are you meditating? You hate meditating."

"That hurts, Sakura-chan. I meditate everyday. It helps me focus."

"But why are you meditating?" She asked again.

"Because Shikamaru said that while we're here I can't train. It'll be too suspicious for me to be training like I do in front of the cameras. So I meditate instead so that I can at least get something accomplished with my training."

"Ah."

"So, what did you do today?" He asked casually. "Hanging out with the girls, right?"

"That's right, we went to the hotsprings and talked about the information we've gathered so far. We're going to meet up with everyone tomorrow at the bar to talk about it."

"Sounds like fun." He paused for a few seconds. "...How's Ino?"

"She's… doing better. You know, with everything that happened. We actually went out for lunch and talked about it. It took a bit but she finally stopped apologizing for it." The pinkette said with a happy tone. "She was worried that I'd be furious about it."

"I was too." Naruto admitted. "You told her that I'm not upset with her, right?"

"Of course." Sakura said. "She finally believed me after awhile. We also went window shopping around some of the clothing shops after lunch. Unfortunately we didn't have nearly enough money to afford anything here so we could only look around."

The pinkette let out a sigh. "If only our all expense paid tickets included the shops here like it does the restaurants, I found a lot of things that I liked today."

"If you wanted some money then all you had to do was ask, Sakura-chan. I would've been happy to give you the money to go shopping today." Said the blond as he still sat in his meditative position facing the ocean.

Sakura's cheeks blushed a little at the offer. "Thanks Naruto, but I wouldn't want to take that much money from you for something like this."

Naruto opened his eyes and turned to look at the pinkette. Calling her over to him with a 'come here' motion with his hand. Said pinkette shrugged and walked over next to him, slightly bending over to see what he was doing.

Sakura's eyes widened when he performed a summoning jutsu without any hand signs or blood. A small storage scroll appeared in his hand.

"How did you do that?" She asked, amazed at his ability to summon the scroll at will.

Naruto smiled. "Its thanks to my Uzumaki blood, that, and my enormous amounts of chakra. I can summon things to me that I have premarked with my dad's formula that he used with his Flying Thunder God Technique. I store a lot of stuff at Mount Myoboku for safe keeping. Since I'm the only person alive that can get there it's the safest place on earth." He explained.

He opened the small storage scroll and checked through its contents for a few seconds before apparently finding what he was looking for. When he did find it he tapped on the scroll and a medium sized coin bag poofed into his hand. "Here you go, Sakura-chan, take this with you tomorrow and go shopping. Feel free to take Ino too. I know how she loves shopping."

Taking the coin bag from his hand she gave a skeptical look as she began to open it. She noted that it was fairly heavy for the size. Did he have other things in here as well? Did he not realize how expensive the clothes were here? She had seen his frog coin bag for years, he never had much money in it at any given time.

But boy was she wrong. Upon opening the bag, Sakura nearly had a heart attack when a literal pile of gold coins greeted her emerald eyes. She fully opened the bag, fully expecting for a rock or something to be at the bottom, but to her surprise the bag was completely filled with gold coins.

"Wha…? Naruto, where, where did you get all of this?" She asked. She was sure that he hadn't done anything illegal to get this much money, this was Naruto after all, but she was still suspicious as to where he got it from.

"What? Oh, I got that from completing a mission last month. I haven't spent any of it yet." He said as he appeared to go back to his meditating position. He sat straight as a pole and calmed his breathing before closing his eyes again.

"You got all of this just for completing a mission?" She asked, skeptical. He nodded his head in reply.

"But this is enough gold coins to buy my house. What kind of mission did you even do?" She asked, her eyes still focused on the literal pile of gold coins in her hand.

"I can't say." Was his reply. "It's classified. All I can say was that is was an S rank mission." He turned his head slightly and smiled to her as she sat next to him. "You know how it is, I can't talk about S rank missions."

"I know, but still." She measured the weight of the bag of coins in her hand. "Jeez, and I thought that I made a lot at the hospital. Do you always make this much? On S rank missions, I mean?"

The blond seemed to think it over for a second. "It depends, really. Depending on how dangerous the mission is and on how much the contractor is willing to pay. I've made more than that before on one mission, but not that often. Contrary to popular belief, not all S rank missions give a big pay out."

"Really?" Sakura asked. "I thought that S rank missions paid the best."

"They have the potential to pay the most." He corrected. "Sometimes I get a bag of gold and other times I don't even get enough to buy a few ramen from the store. And because they are so few and far in between I have to make sure that I spend my money wisely. Since I don't know if I'll get enough money to pay my rent anytime soon."

This surprised the pinkette. She always thought that completing an S rank mission gave you a lot of money because of the extremely high risk of injury or death. That raised a question in her mind.

"Then why don't you just do an A or even a B rank mission a few times a month? You should be able to live off of just a few missions a month."

"That's because I only do S rank missions exclusively, Sakura-chan." He said simply. "I haven't completed anything below S rank since the war. Except when I had to, like when I was with you and Ino. Besides those few times, I only do S rank missions."

"You only do S rank missions, why?" The pinkette asked. "They are S rank missions because of their high risk."

Sakura turned to Naruto and grabbed his hand lightly, causing I'm to look at her as well. "You understand that you could die, right, Naruto? You're not immortal. If you keep up only doing S rank missions then you could end up getting killed." The pinkette could feel her emotions welling up inside her at the moment. One of the things that she had noticed since their confessions to each other was her worry for Naruto. Even though she had always worried for her best friend it was different now that she is seeing him in a different light. She was worried that he would get killed on one of his S rank missions, S ranks were only assigned to S rank and Kage level ninjas, so the risk to him was high.

"I'm well aware of the risk, Sakura-chan. Pervy Sage died on an S rank mission. I know all too well the danger I could face while on them." He said as he turned his head slightly away. Sakura followed his motion and looked at his eyes, she could see him fighting back tears. The pinkette edged her way closer to him as they sat next to each other, trying to comfort him as much as she could.

Idiot. She was an idiot, she knew how he was with Lord Jiraiya. She should've been more careful. But still, she was worried for him. After so long being besides him, no matter their relationship at the time, she couldn't imagine her life without him.

"Then why do you do them?" She asked. "If you're aware of the risk then why do you do it?"

He turned back to looking straight ahead and didn't answer for a few seconds. He only sat silently before sighing. "I once asked Pervy Sage that same question. Do you know what he said?"

Sakura shook her head. She had no idea.

"...He said that it was because he was the one with the highest chance of coming back alive." He paused for a few seconds. "I don't want someone to die on a mission that I could've come back from. It doesn't matter if it's an ANBU, someone I don't know or especially someone I know like Konohamaru in the future, I won't let someone die because I was unwilling to take a mission. I'm going to be Hokage one day, and as Hokage it will be my job to protect the village with my life. Pervy Sage made sure to pound that into my brain on our training trip. He made sure that I understood the risks." Naruto then let out a breath before continuing.

"Even though I thought that they were cool as a kid, I never liked the fact that he only did S rank missions. I was worried that one day that we wouldn't return from one."

Placing a hand on his back, Sakura was unaware that she started to rub his back for comfort. "And one day… he didn't. Just as one day I might not." He then gave her a big reassuring smile. "But I'm prepared for that. We are ninja after all, there is a chance of us dying every day. I know that all too well."

Sakura lightly punched him in the arm. "Well I'm not, you baka. I don't want you to die." She could feel tears welling up in her eyes as well.

He smiled at her words and lightly hugged her from the side with one arm. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

"No problem, Naruto. I wouldn't be able to say that I loved you if I didn't worry for you."

The two young adults sat next to each other in silence for awhile. Each one thinking. 'It's just like him.' Sakura thought to herself. 'Risking his life for the sake of others. Even if he doesn't know them, he will risk his life to protect them.'

She turned her head to look at his. 'What did I ever do to deserve someone like him?'

After a few more minutes of silence Sakura got Naruto's attention by placing a soft peck on his cheek. "Go upstairs and take a shower, we're having dinner in about an hour."

Helping her to her feet, Naruto smiled. "Where are we going today?" He asked.

"No where." She said as she started to head inside. "I made arrangements for a chef to come and make dinner for us here." Thinking about what she said she smiled. "I could get used to this, couldn't you?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean being waited on hand and foot. I could get used to being treated like royalty from time to time."

The blond hero walked up besides her and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "Well being the Hokage is the closest thing to being royalty in the village. So by extension that includes the Hokage's _wife_ as well." He said quickly before going inside. Leaving a shocked and blushing Sakura on the deck.

"Did he just…?" The blushing pinkette asked herself. "Of course he did, he's Naruto. How can he say things like that with a straight face?" She asked herself. Her face was red as a tomato and her skin felt like it was on fire from his touch.

"That baka, all he'd have to do is ask."

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, thanks for reading, sorry for the super short and dull chapter, life was hectic these last few days as I tried to work on it. I hoped to spend all day working on it but I went to go see the movie It with my dad and ran errands with him after. And my internet was refusing to let me get anything done almost all day, I had to do work and bank stuff but I couldn't get into either accounts. So what should've took five minutes took almost two hours to do, and I couldn't even find the problem.

Anyway, I'm hoping to stick to my regular schedule and get the next chapter out in two weeks, the 30th. So look out for that.

Please leave a Review, Follow and Favorite, it really makes my day. Until next time, this has been Hephaestus.


	19. Ch19: It Is Here!

Chapter 19: It Is Here!

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey everyone, sorry that this is coming out on Monday and not Saturday. My week was busy as usual and a lot of unforeseen things happened that kept me from working on this chapter. Such as the guys working on the roof at my apartment knocking out the power for half the day. I also went to my old high school for their homecoming game, they got destroyed brutally, like losing 6 to 44 brutally. But it was fun nonetheless. I was able to play with the band again. And I was quickly reminded what happens when you don't play for over a year and you try to play a forty pound marching tuba. It's early Monday morning here and I'm still sore from playing on Saturday.**

 **Anyway, I thought that Id let you all know that there are some LEMONS this chapter towards the end. Since this is an M rated fic I don't feel that I should have to make a warning but since it's the first one I thought that I should. If you're not at all interested in the Lemons then just go ahead and skip to the end and read the last few paragraphs, you won't want to miss the ending, believe me. Also, this is my first full Lemons, so please have mercy on me and go easy on the Reviews. There will be a few more Lemon scenes later in the story(one for each couple at least) and I'll work on making them better. So let me know how to improve.**

 **One last thing, I know that I said last time that they'd be going to the bar and trying to befriend Shou but the NaruSaku stuff took much longer than I intended it to. I didn't even plan on having Lemon yet with them but it seemed to fit well so I added it. So next time we're going to be moving onto the group event at the bar. And oh yeah, it's a long bar scene, so be prepared to see some people get drunk.**

 **That's all from me, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Make sure to leave me a Review letting me know what you think and any ideas for the story, thanks.**

 **Hephaestus**

* * *

Chapter 19: It Is Here!

 **(Later that night with Naruto and Sakura)**

Plopping herself down half onto the couch and half onto her blond haired pillow, Sakura made herself comfortable as they prepared to spend the night watching movies and relaxing with each other. Dinner in one word was phenomenal, truly, words could not give it justice. With her diet and workout routine, along with her self conscious thoughts on her appearance, Sakura normally only ate healthy and sizable meals. But tonight, tonight she felt like she had gorged herself on dinner. So with a full yet happy stomach the pinkette practically laid on top of Naruto with a smile as they got ready to watch a movie.

"You know, Sakura-chan, you never told me what we're celebrating." The blond hero said casually as he began fumbling with the remote. "You said before dinner that it was a surprise. So… what's the cause for celebration?"

Turning her head slightly to see him, Sakura once again wondered how he completely forgot that today was his birthday. What did he think today was? "I could tell you…" She said with a joking tone. "But I think it'd be fun to know what _you_ think today is."

Naruto seemed to give it a few seconds thought before answering. "...Uh, well I know for a fact that it's not an aniversary of any kind. Since it's too soon for that. So-" He was caught off by Sakura's look that made him rethink his statement. Was it too soon for an anniversary? It was, wasn't it? Crap, now he was doubting himself.

"It _is_ too soon for an anniversary, right, Sakura-chan?" He asked, hoping for a hint either way. But all he got in return was a knowing look from her that read 'You'll have to figure that out yourself.'

Continuing his thought process the blond thought aloud. "It's not your birthday. I remember getting you a gift then." He raised a hand to his chin, thinking. Sakura couldn't help but smile at his face. His thinking face was way too adorable. A combination adorable and a little dorky. She dubbed it adorkable.

"Well, I do know that it's not Christmas or anything either,... right?" He asked, sounding less confidant towards the end of the sentence.

"I don't know, is it?" She asked with a smile. She was having fun watching him struggle to figure it out.

"Ok, Sakura-chan, I give up. Tell me what today is already." He gave her a fake pleading look, frowning and making his eyes open wide and shake side to side.

"Don't give me that look, Naruto Uzumaki." She said with a fake serious voice.

"Oh? Why?" He asked. "Can you not resist it? Am I too adorable to say no to?" He asked, half joking.

'What the…? How'd he know that I just thought that?' Sakura asked herself. 'Nevermind that, I can't let him know that he's right. He'd never let me live it down.'

"No, you just look weird like that is all." She lied.

His playful face seemed to deflate a little at her remark but he knew that she wasn't saying it to be rude. "Oh don't say that, Sakura-chan."

"You still haven't figured what today is, Naruto." She reminded him. Moving a little bit to find a more comfortable position.

"You know, you make a much better pillow than I would've thought." She said as she rested his her head on his shoulder.

"Oh do I?" He asked. "How so?"

"Well I thought that with all of your big muscles that you'd be all hard and uncomfortable. But apparently you're super comfy."

"Big muscles?" He asked with a grin. "You're aware that you said that out loud, right?"

"Crap." She said quickly. "But it's true you know, you're like one giant pillow."

Naruto went back to thinking for a few seconds, trying to figure out what was so important about today, so he went silent. Sakura noticed this and sighed, he'd never figure it out, she had just better tell him.

"You really have no idea, do you?" She asked again with a sigh.

"Of course I don't, Sakura-chan. I would've told you already if I did."

The pinkette let out a long sigh. "It's your birthday, Naruto." She answered.

His face was laced with confusion first, then doubt, as if he wasn't sure it actually was. "...No it's not, it's not for a few more weeks, right?"

The pinkette shook her head as she looked up to him from her potion leaning against him. "No it's today, Naruto. Seriously, how could you not remember that today was your birthday?" She asked him.

"...Uh, well I normally never really celebrated my birthday as a kid so I guess I just didn't pay it much mind." Sakura could feel that he subconsciously tensed up a little bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Naruto. I should've known-" She started but was cut off by a warm hand on her cheek.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. I don't want to talk about my birthdays as a kid. Believe me, they were some of the worst days of my life. So I choose to forget them."

"I understand. So why not make some new memories, shall we?" She asked.

He gave her a slightly confused look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean let's forget those days and just enjoy today together." She explained before snuggling up against him even more as the movie began to play but both figured that they weren't going to pay it much mind.

After a few minutes of relative silence Naruto spoke up with a question. "So did you get me anything?" He asked. "For my birthday, I mean."

And at that very moment Sakura's mind froze. She had been so worried about what to _do_ for his birthday that she didn't think of what to _get_ him for his birthday. She felt so stupid right now, how could she have forgotten to get him a gift? She had to apologize quickly. Hopefully he wouldn't be too upset about it.

"I, uh…"

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. You don't have to get me anything, it's fine with me." Said the blond young man.

"You're only saying that because I didn't get you anything." She said back.

"No, really, you don't have to get me anything. Being with you is the best gift I could ever get." He said casually much to Sakura's dismay.

The pinkette blushed and felt butterflies in her stomach. 'How can he be so cheesy and talk like that without blushing?' She asked herself. 'He makes my heart flutter like a schoolgirl.'

"You know you're a giant cheese ball, don't you?" She asked teasingly with a smile.

"And you know that you love it when I talk like this, so don't try to pretend that you don't." He countered back with a smile of his own.

Well he had her there, not that she would ever admit it to him.

"But I really am sorry about not getting you something, Naruto." Said the pinkette.

"Really, don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. As long as you're with me I won't ever need anything else." He said before be placed chaste kiss on her forehead.

Trying to hide her reddening cheeks the pinkette suddenly became very interested in the movie to distract herself.

A few minutes passed and Naruto hadn't paid one second of attention to the movie, he tried to hide it but he kept glancing over at the pink haired beauty on his lap. He thought that he was being sneaky about it but when Sakura commented on it he went a little red in the face.

"What?" She asked with little chuckle as she looked into his cerulean eyes.. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?" SHe asked.

Deciding to be even more cheesy he replied with a big smile. "It's just that I can't help it, you know?" He answered. "I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world. I can't help but stare."

The pinkette blushed even harder. Girlfriend? He said it! Yes! She did a mental double fist pump to the sky. She had been a little worried because neither of them had said anything about them dating or anything. In retrospect, Sakura knew that she shouldn't have been worried about it, but try telling her mind that.

She let out a soft laugh and she raised a hand to her face. It was exactly like him to say something like that to her. Kami, he's told her that she's beautiful before but now it hits her completely differently now that they are together. After she let her laughter die down she lifted herself up a little and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I guess that you clean up pretty well yourself, Naru-kun."

His eyes widened instantly. "N-Naru-kun?" He asked, thinking that he must've misheard her or something. She couldn't have said that, could she?

"Yup, Naru-kun." She replied as she gave him another short peck on the cheek. "It's going to me my _special_ name for you for when we're alone." She said with a hint of suggestion in her tone that she didn't know if she meant to include or not.

This time it was Naruto's turn to blush. Suddenly his entire face turned a dark red. Sakura smiled at it, Naruto normally wasn't one to blush like that. He usually could take any kind of suggestive talk and just fire back a witty or fake suggestive remark of his own. Or at least that's what Sakura has seen when he reacts to other girls. Normally he doesn't return their flirts, since he doesn't normally catch it since he's oblivious, but with other girls that he knows aren't actually hitting on him he's able to normally take any kind of comment like that. Like with Tenten who for a while kept fake flirting with him. Maybe he went so red and reacted like that was because it was _her_ that said it? That made the pinkette smile even more. She was glad that she was the only one that could get that kind of reaction out of him.

She leaned in again, gently placing her lips on his and he sighed as a feeling of content washed over him. Pulling back slightly, she ran her fingers softly over his cheeks. "I'm really happy that you finally told me how you felt. I don't know what I'd do without you." She said softly.

"I'm glad too." He gave her a gentle smile. "You don't know how long I've wished to be with you." He let his eyes admire hers for a few seconds before slowly moving closer and giving her a long kiss. Sakura felt his arms wrap around her and pull her closer to him as they kissed.

Lengthening the kiss longer than any of their previous kisses, Naruto was unaware as his body slowly started to move hers so that she was leaning back against the couch.

After a quick breath of air from both sides, Sakura hesitantly slid her tongue in between his teeth and slowly moved it about. She was worried that it would catch him off guard and that he wouldn't like it but when a soft groan escaped his lips she knew that he liked it.

When he removed his lips from hers Sakura was worried, but only for a second as he moved his way down as he kissed her jaw. Moving down even more her eyes widened as he nestled his face into her neck and softly nibbled and kissed her neck.

"N-Naru-kun…" She heard his name escape her lips but she didn't remember saying it. A shudder rolled down her body as his teeth softly skimmed over her sensitive skin. This was a new sensation for her, yes they have kissed before but not like this, and they certainly haven't done this before.

Not knowing that they were moving, his hands found their way to the bottom of her shirt. Neither of the two were aware that her shirt was rising as Naruto continued his kissing on her neck. Not knowing that she was helping him remove her shirt by sitting up slightly, Sakura was surprised when her shirt was raised over her head by his hands.

Blinking a few times she realized what was happening. A dark red blush painted itself over her entire face as she watched the man she loved lean back and smile, a bit lustfully she might add, at her torso. She felt the sudden urge to cover herself but she was quickly stopped when he spoke.

"You're so beautiful, Sakura-chan." He whispered softly, even though she was so close she could barely hear him.

He marveled at how beautiful she was. His right hand slowly and hesitantly made it's way down and landed on her exposed stomach. Feeling how smooth her skin was. His hand slowly explored her soft skin as it made it's way up towards her bra. He stopped briefly to look up to her, asking a silent permission. Seeing her hesitant eyes he was about to remove his hand when she gave him a slow nod. His hand slowly made it's way under her clothing. Sakura felt a shudder go down her spine when his finger met the flesh of her breast. He pulled the fabric out of the way with a little help and tossed it aside.

He slowly cupped her breast, he smiled gently, it was as if it was made specifically to fit into his hand. A quick gasp left her lips as he slowly massaged it with his hand. She felt her back arch up into him. As he methodically rubbed his thumb over her nipple he watched her reaction. Making sure that he wasn't doing anything she wasn't okay with. He leaned forward, his head hovering over her breast, his tongue slowly sliding from his lips as he lightly licked the curve of her breast. His left hand made it's way over her other breast as it slowly massaged her.

Her green eyes quickly shut as she let out a soft moan as her back arched up into him even more. His mouth softly closed around her bud as he sucked on it gently, his tongue swirled around it. Her hands gripped his blond locks tightly as she moaned. His left hand continued its ministrations of softly groping her creamy flesh before switching his mouth to her other breast to give it attention as well.

The medic pressed her lips together, forcing back a groan that threatened to make itself known. She knew one thing for sure, that tongue of his was more powerful than it should be. She could feel the desire in her body slowly rise each time he moved that muscle over her skin.

After what seemed like an eternity he pulled away from her soft flesh, staring down at her with what looked to her like dazzling eyes. Not letting him anymore time to just sit there, she pulled him down back on top of her, placing his lips on her own. Having his hard body on her soft one Sakura could barely remember what it felt like to not have him there.

Groaning into his lips, Sakura wasn't aware as her hands began to lift his shirt over his head slowly. Before she knew it she threw his shirt aside and pulled her head back as she critiqued his muscular torso. Saying that Naruto was in shape would be an understatement. The pink haired medic was still in awe at his finely chiseled body. Proof that his insane workout regimen worked. Never again would she chastise him about training too much if this was the result she got.

Returning her lips to his, she slid her hands over his bare chest slowly. When his kisses began to pick up speed and intensity she felt her hands slowly make their way down his stomach and stop at his belt.

Blinking and pulling her head back a bit she realized what she was doing. Her hands were trying to make their way into his pants but she stopped them before they could get the chance. She tried to pull her lips away from his but Naruto followed her, kissing her even more vigorously than before.

Finally noticing where her hands were, Naruto misread her look and thought that she was just asking him if it was alright. He gave her a nod before lowering his hands from her chest and gripping his belt. He managed to unlatch it and was able to pull his pants down a few inches before a shaky voice was heard.

"S-stop, Naru-kun." But the blond wasn't paying attention, his only concern was the primal urges his body was feeling.

When she realized that he wasn't stopping as his pants reached his knees and his hands latched onto the top of her skirt she felt a wave of panic rush over her.

"I said stop, Naru-kun." She said a little more loudly this time. She could feel him about to pull her skirt down, she had to stop him. He wasn't listening to her.

"Naruto, stop!" She all but yelled to get his attention.

Blinking a few times and shaking his head back and forth, the blond looked to her face and saw the look in her eyes. His own eyes quickly shot down to her waist, seeing his hands gripped around the fabric of her skirt he didn't even realize that her own hands were wrapped around his and attempting to pull his away.

Pulling back from her and getting off of his girlfriend Naruto realized what he was doing as all of a sudden everything hit him. Sakura, the girl that he loved and promised to never hurt was struggling to stop him from doing something to her. Shifting his focus back to her eyes Naruto stumbled back a little on the couch. He could see tears forming around her emerald orbs.

"S-Sakura-chan, I-I'm sorry." He quickly apologised. "I didn't, I didn't mean to-, I'm sorry!" He hung his head low as he apologized.

"I… I don't know what came over me. I didn't, I would never force you to…" He trailed off, he wasn't able to complete that sentence.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am." He looked up to her again before closing his eyes. "Please, forgive me, Sakura-chan."

She placed one hand and arm over her breasts to cover herself and with the other she reached out to him and caressed his cheek. His eyes opened to her touch.

"I-It's okay, Naru-kun. You, you don't have to apologize. I-" She bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry, too. I just got… scared."

His eyes widened at the final word. Scared, that was the one thing that he never wanted her to feel. Especially around him. A worried look made it's way onto his usual smiling face, he placed his hand over hers and gave it a soft squeeze.

"I,I… I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't mean to scare you. You know that I would never and will never try to scare you. I… I don't want to ever hurt you." He looked into her eyes. "I love you, I don't want to scare you."

Placing her other hand atop of his, she gave a firm squeeze and shook her head side to side quickly, she would've gotten lightheaded if she weren't so focused. "No, no, don't apologize, Naruto. And don't worry either, I wasn't afraid of you. I will _never_ be afraid of you, I love you." She shortened the distance between them and brought her boyfriend into a comforting hug. He must've thought that she was scared that he was going to force himself on her. That wasn't it, she trusted him. She knew that even though he was caught up in the moment that he would _never_ do that to her. "I just, I was just surprised, is all. I'm, I'm just not ready to do that yet."

She pulled back slightly and held his face in her hands. "I hope you understand, it's not that I don't want to, far from it, it's just… that I'm hesitant, it's a big thing, you know? I'm just not ready to make that leap, at least not right now."

Seeing his eyes widen and a soft breath of air leave his lips she knew that he understood that she wasn't upset with him. If anything, he seemed to be the most affected out of the pair of them, Sakura could recognize the look of regret and guilt in his eyes. She leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, telling him that it was alright. There was no burning desire in that kiss, no longing and wanting in it like all the ones before it. Her kissed displayed to him what her words could not, that she truly loved him. Looking into his deep blue orbs once again she confirmed with hers that she held no resentment or worry or fear for him. How could she, she loved him.

Pulling his girlfriend into another hug Naruto gave her a soft but comforting squeeze. "Let's stop, Sakura-chan. I don't want to make you do anymore than you already have."

"Wait, I-." She stopped herself as he slowly rose from the couch. He walked behind the couch and she couldn't see what he was doing. She was about to ask when his hand along with her bra came into view.

"Let's go to bed, Sakura-chan. It's getting late." He said before picking up his shirt and heading up the stairs without looking at her. But when he turned to corner she could see the worried look on his face. He was still sorry for what happened.

After slipping her clothes back on Sakura made her way upstairs to their bedroom. She was surprised to find that he wasn't already in bed. It took a few seconds but she heard the shower running in their adjoining bathroom. Sitting on their overly comfortable bed Sakura placed her head in her hands. She was sure that she messed up. She had no doubt that he would be upset about her stopping him like that. No, she thought, this was Naruto, he wouldn't be upset at her. He might he upset that they stopped but not at her directly.

As she listened to the water run in the next room she thought about him. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to calm himself down with a cold shower. She knew how the male body worked, she was a medic after all. She had felt his member pressing against her as they kissed. Shaking her head she tried to shake that image from her mind. That wasn't exactly helping her calm down, was it?

"He must be disappointed." She said aloud to the empty room around her. "We were this close to… doing it but I let my fear get the best of me."

She let herself fall back onto the bed. She was conflicted, on one hand she knew that Naruto wasn't upset at her but on the other she was upset at herself. She has wanted to fill this desire for as long as she could remember. And she was this close but she chickened out. The pinkette sighed. She knew that she loved him and that she wanted to be with him in that sense at some point, but wasn't it too early? Was now the right time? Would he think she was some kind of floozy if she changed her mind and asked him to sleep with her when he got out of the shower? He would, wouldn't he? Or would he just be happy about it? What was she supposed to do? She's never had to worry about this kind of situation before. She had never been this close with anyone before.

"What should I do?" She asked herself. "It's his birthday and we're here at this beautiful couples resort… should I, should we take that step? I love him and I know that he loves me, so should we?"

The pink haired medic rolled over on her stomach and placed her face into a pillow. Why was this so complicated? Why couldn't she just be told what was the right answer? She tried to imagine what her mother would want her to do in this situation. A huge blush painted itself on her face. Scratch that, she has never and hopefully will never have that conversation with her mother. She'd force her to wait until her honeymoon if she could. What would her parents think if they learned that they had sex before they got married? The rules were very strict in the village, if anyone heard about it then she would be labeled a disgrace. She was from a civilian family and Naruto was going to become the Hokage, many might say that she 'defiled' him or herself by having sex with him outside marriage.

Feeling a headache coming on, Sakura thought about her other mother figure in her life, Lady Tsunade. "What would M'lady have me do?" She asked herself. She knew very well that the subject rarely came up but she was at first convinced of what would be her answer. But, she also gave her that box full of condoms and a bottle of lubrication oil. So clearly she was in full support of that idea. But would she want them to do it so soon?

"She would want me to wait. M'lady would want me to do whatever I most comfortable with." But then a thought came into her head. "What _would_ I be most comfortable with?" She asked herself.

She had no idea honestly, she both wanted Naruto to take her at the moment and didn't want him to. This is so confusing, what is she supposed to do? Should she do whatever Naruto would want more? Would he want to sleep with her more or would he want to respect her wishes more? The pinkette was confident in the latter. He would never force her to do something like that.

"Aaarghhh!" She let out a frustrated cry as she sat up in the bed. Why was this so difficult?

oooOooo

After a few more minutes she reached a decision, after reflecting on it she realized what each person would think and what they would want her to do. Those people being her, Naruto, her mother and Lady Tsunade. But after thinking about it she realized that it didn't matter what anyone else thought about it. This was between her and Naruto, and that she didn't need to consult nor ask permission about having sex with him. The only thing was getting up the courage to actually do it. Agreeing to do it in her head was one thing, but actually going along with it was a completely different thing.

The pinkette stood up and clapped her hands to her face. She needed to stop worrying about it, she had made her decision to do it so she just needed to stop freaking out.

Glancing up at the clock on the wall Sakura realized that he would be done with his shower at any minute, and that she needed to get ready. Walking over to the dresser and opening her suitcase she pulled out a small box. She opened it and took out one of the brightly colored packages by random. When she opened her hand she lightly chuckled, it was bright orange, the same color that was practically his trademark. Letting out a breath and with it the last of her worry she quickly dug through her clothes in search of something that she never thought that she would ever wear.

oooOooo

*** **Lemon Starting Below Here! Anyone Under 18 Skip To End Of The Chapter *****

When Naruto got out of the shower and entered their bedroom he nearly had a heart attack. Laying atop the bed was Sakura in a very bright and revealing set of pink underwear. She was laying on her side facing him, he elbow holding her head up as she watched him stare at her. Below the waist she was covered by a blanket but from seeing her bra Naruto knew what to expect.

He couldn't help but let out a gulp. She looked like something out of one of Pervy Sage's 'novels' as he called them. She was so beautiful. The dimmed light in the room let her skin shine and appear even more beautiful than he ever thought possible.

He tried to speak but when he opened his mouth no sound came out.

Sakura gave him a flirtatious look and smiled. "I thought of a gift for your birthday, _Naru-kun_." She threw of the blanket to reveal her matching pink underwear. Naruto practically fell over when he was them. She stressed the way she said his name. All the blond could do was stare, what was happening? Why couldn't he move?

She gave him an overdramatic frown and pouted. "Oh well. If you don't want your gift then I can just wait to give it to you next year." She said with a straight face. What was she doing? Normally she would've passed out from embarrassment by now. How was she so calm about this?

'Why can't I move my legs?' Naruto screamed in his head. 'She literally asking me for it but now that I can I can't move. Pervy Sage would be ashamed if he saw me now.'

Snapping out of it and finally being able to move he shook his head and slowly opened his eyes, sure that this was all in his head and that she wouldn't be there when he opened them. But when he opened his eyes she was still there. So this was real…

At that realization his eyes widened as he practically ran to the bed and jumped next to his girlfriend.

"S-Sakura-chan, are you sure? I-I mean you said earlier that-." He started but was cut off when her lips attacked his own. That kiss was all the answer he needed, she was ready for this.

With a wanting that she didn't know she had, at least she didn't know that it was this bad, she practically grabbed the blond and threw herself back onto the bed, pulling him down on top of her.

Taking a break from kissing her, Naruto slowly unlatched her bra and threw it aside, revealing her breasts to the world for the second time that night. With one hand he massaged her breast and swirled his thumb around her hardening bud. Sakura was a little surprised when he lowered himself even more as his face got to eye level with her groin.

Realising what he was wanting to do, Sakura gave him permission with the nod of her head. As his other hand reached out to her underwear she felt a wave of anticipation wash over her. A groan of satisfaction came from her as she moved her body closer to his hand.

He reached her underwear with trembling fingers, he could feel his entire body shaking.

He placed his hand on the garment and as soon as she slightly raised her body to help he pulled down her underwear in one quick motion. She quickly kicked the last of her clothing away and looked down to her Naruto, a dark red blush going across her face. No one has ever seen this part of her before, let alone the man she loves. She didn't know what to think.

His blue orbs glanced down to the juncture of the legs, her most private area revealed for all to see and glistening in the light provided. His fingers found their way back to her area, delicately tracing the area around her opening and marveling at how warm she was. He heard her take a sharp breath when he slowly and carefully inserted a single finger into her.

Sakura bit her lower lip when he began to slowly thrust his finger in and out of her, as he did so her back arched off the bed. She let out a throaty groan when he suddenly inserted another finger and increased the pace.

She was in heaven! If it felt this good to just have his fingers inside of her then she couldn't even imagine how it would feel to have his member inside of her.

The pinkette felt her body roll her body into his fingers as they pulsed up and down. When his free hand went back to rubbing her buds she felt like she was losing her mind, how could it get better than this?

As he kept going she could feel herself fading quickly, not wanting to let it go too soon she bit her lower lip and felt another wave of pleasure wash over her as he inserted a third finger into her.

Her hands gripped his hand tightly, she could feel her release coming soon and she couldn't stop it. She continued to roll her body into the pumps of his fingers, her moans and groans becoming more wild and louder.

And all at once the pressure inside of her that had been stockpiling suddenly stopped, she only had the time of a blink of an eye of peace before it all came crashing back down. Waves upon endless waves of pleasure flowed throughout her body as her release washed over her. She knew that no one was close enough to hear but she wouldn't have cared anyway, she was groaning and screaming for all to hear. She didn't care if she sounded like some sort of horny teenager, all that mattered was that she was being pleased by the man she loved.

After a few seconds she came down off of her pleasure induced high, she was panting heavily as she gazed to look at the blond. His eyes, he was looking at her in a way that made her want to shiver with pleasure. His hand came up from in between her legs and came to his mouth. He slowly licked the juice from his fingers and smiled seductively at her.

She had to bite her lip when she heard the primal groan leave his lips. Before he had the chance to think she pulled him back on top of her as she placed their lips together. As they kissed she wasted no time in pulling his pants down with a little help.

Kneeling above her Sakura could see his hardened member through his underwear. The garment was struggling to hold back his manhood, with one final pull she pulled down his underwear, leaving his fully erect member standing at attention in front of her.

He had to stop himself from cursing when she without warning grabbed his length with one hand and gave it a tight squeeze. She opened up her legs wider to give him room to enter her. As he slowly lowered himself down to her she couldn't keep her eyes off his member, it was so big. She has seen them before yes, since she was a medic and had to give yearly physicals to the ninja of the village, so she has honestly seen more than she'd ever like to remember but this one was different. She had never once seen one erected fully before. As Naruto prepared to enter her she had but one thought, was that thing actually supposed to fit inside her?

She gasped as she was shook from her thoughts when he pressed the tip of his member near her entrance. A sudden thought hit her, she completely forgot something important.

"...Wait, Naru-kun." She managed to get out. He gave her a worried look and removed his member from her opening, he must think that she wants him to stop.

"What? Is something wrong, Sakura-chan? Do you want me to-." She cut him off quickly.

"Oh sweet Kami no, I don't want you to stop. Just put on the condom first, and hurry, I can't hold it."

"Condom?" He asked. His face went red. "I don't have any, Sakura-chan."

"No you baka, there's one on the nightstand, hurry up and put it on." She could feel her patience wearing thin, she couldn't handle this tension and desire back for much longer.

Looking over to the nightstand Naruto reached over and just managed to grab it without having to get up. Opening the package and putting it over his manhood was the single most stressful thing he had ever done, he tried to do it as fast as possible, for both their sakes.

"Hurry." She practically panted out impatiently, lifting her hips up in anticipation.

"I'm ready." He said quickly as he moved himself back to his previous position.

"Just hurry up and do it." She nearly begged.

With a grunt he slowly slid himself into her, despite her wish to do it quickly. He wanted to take his time and fully enjoy what it felt like to be inside of her. A moan left both their lips at the same time as she adjusted to his length inside of her. He was struggling to hold back his load so soon. After the look of pain left her face she gave him a nod, telling him that it was fine to start moving. He nodded in reply and slowly pulled himself until only his head was inside of her before slowly going back down. Before starting slow and steady thrusts.

Naruto grabbed the back of her thigh for a better angle, the sounds that were coming from her were enough to make him want to release his load but he managed to hold it.

As he increased the speed of his thrusts he could feel her body clench around his member, his entire being was trembling, he was having a hard time maintaining control of himself. He leaned forward and placed his face into the crook of her neck, giving her soft kisses to her sensitive skin. Her nails were digging into his back, it hurt but it also felt good as well. With another thrust she came and tightened even more on his member.

Increasing his speed even more he listened to her shout his name as she came again. "Naru-kun!" She yelled as she came. He could listen to her yell his name like that all day. He didn't want her to stop. He slowed his thrusts bit by bit until he pulled out of her and leaned back a little bit. Giving her time to catch her breath. Her cheeks were flush and sweat was rolling down her body, he watched her breasts rise and fall as she tried to steady her breathing.

She lifted her body up to meet his, giving him the gentlest of kisses. He melted into her kiss, pulling her close to him before falling back onto the bed. She let out a little grunt at the sudden movement, opening her eyes to see his blue ones looking up at hers.

A slight devilish grin came to her lips, she was in control now. She was surprised when he returned the gesture and a look that said 'Go ahead'. Her eyes closed as she gripped his length and positioned it under her opening. Feeling him grab her waist tightly she opened her eyes just as his were about to roll back. Making sure that she was secure, Sakura started to let herself slide down, letting gravity to the work. She increased her speed and kept rising and falling as she came once more. She leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his lips. She could hear him muttering incoherent words as she caught her breath.

Rolling her over Naruto placed her once again on her back as he continued to thrust into her again.

"Mmm, ah! Naru-kun!" She yelled as he pulled up and thrust even harder into her.

"Sakura-chan!" He yelled loudly as his orgasm came, along with her final one of the night. She shuddered as she could feel his seed firing into the condom inside of her. Naruto let himself roll onto his side and the two stayed there for some time as they tried to catch their breath. Pulling himself out of her for the last time Naruto pulled her in close as he rolled onto his back. She instantly laid her head on his chest as she played with his hair as they caught their breath.

She lifted her head to look at him after awhile. "I love you, Naru-kun."

Pulling her closer to him as he smiled. "I love you too, Sakura-chan." He said before softly kissing her forehead.

oooOooo

At some unknown time in the night Sakura woke up, her back was stiff and the area in between her legs were on fire, but the thing that she felt most was a warm feeling inside of her. Coming out of her daze the medic knew what it was, but it was impossible. She quickly sat up and pulled back the blanket that Naruto must've put on her, she searched in the dark with her hands for a few seconds before finding it. When she found it she brought it to eye level and inspected it. Right there, as she knew it would be, she could see that the condom broke without either of them realizing it.

The pinkette felt several emotions all at once, she was still in a fog from being banged that hard but she felt a short wave of worry wash over her. Hopefully she didn't have anything to worry about. Really, what were the chances of it? Throwing the torn item to the side Sakura made herself comfortable on his chest once again before quickly falling back asleep.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys, thanks for reading, this is my first attempt at a Lemon so please be nice with the Reviews and cut me some slack. I intended for the Lemon to come later for Naruto and Sakura but I felt that it felt really well here. Sorry again for the late upload but the one day that I set aside to work on this chapter I couldn't because the idiots working on the roofs at my apartments accidentally took out a transformer or something, knocking out the power for the entire complex. Anyway, let me know what you thought of my attempt at Lemon and this chapter in general with a Review.**

 **The next chapter will be coming out in two weeks time on the weekend of the 14th. So look forward to that. Also, let me know how long you guys want this story to go. Should I end the story after the mission is over? Or should I have them return from the mission and continue the story from there, getting into the couples living together and having kids and such? Let me know, I meant to put out a poll last week but I accidentally closed the page before I could finish it.**

 **Next chapter will be interesting as well, I wanted to get more into this chapter but the NaruSaku stuff got longer than I meant for it to. Next time the group will go to the bar and attempt to befriend Shou so that they can get into the ring.**

 **I'll see you in two weeks time, Hephaestus out!**


	20. Ch20: We'll Talk About It later

Chapter 20: We'll Talk About It Later

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey everyone! Sorry again about the late update, my week was even more busy than usual. I had planned to spend all day Friday writing but my dad's starter decided to go out in his car so I had to drive him around for a few days and I had to take him to pick up his car from the shop Friday. On top of that, because of our recent snow(only three inches, not a lot by our standards where I live) and because many trees still have their leaves, several hundred branches decided to fall at my grandpa's house. And when I say several hundred I mean it. It looked like a small tornado hit. He was two sixty plus foot trees in his backyard and they decided to drop a few thousand pounds of wood on his lawn, shed and roof. I'm relieved that he was safe since the roof could've collapsed. So as you can imagine I had to go over there this week and help out. I spent several hours on both Friday and Sunday cutting, chopping, splitting, chainsawing, and carrying wood. After that you'd think that I'd be done, right? Wrong, I'm not even a third of the way done. My writing time is going to be cut this week since I'm going to have to go over there and work for a few days. Sorry about that but there's nothing I can do about it, family comes first.**

 **I wanted to get this chapter out Saturday but I ended up having to go out to lunch with my family. A birthday lunch, my birthday actually. I didn't want to go but I had no choice. Oh yeah, as of 35 minutes ago it's my birthday, so wish me a happy birthday or something in a Review or PM. Or don't, I really don't care, I've never made a big deal over my birthday.**

 **Anyway, one last thing before we get to the chapter, I just realized this the other day, but Wednesday of this week(the 18th) marks my one year on FF. I wanted to put something special out for you guys but I realized it too late to plan anything, sorry about that. So I spent some extra time on this chapter for you guys, so I hope you like it.**

 **One more last thing, we've just hit 417 pages for this story! I can't believe it. Yes a solid twenty of so pages is planning and stuff, and I do skips in between chapters but still, that's a lot. When I first started this story 6 months ago I** _ **never**_ **expected this story to get so big. A lot of that is thanks to you guys, if it weren't for you all I wouldn't be sitting here right now writing stories from people I will never meet. It may sound cliche and I don't try to make it a habit, but I want to seriously thank you guys for all of your support over these past few months. It really does mean the word to me. I honestly get a lot of happiness from writing but most of it comes from you guys directly, I smile everytime I get a Review or PM, you guys will never know what it means to me, so thank you, from the bottom of my nerdy heart, I thank you guys.**

 **Here's to one year on FF and to hopefully many more years to come! I love you guys and love what I do, so please, so your support for this story and for all my future stories.**

 **But that was enough babbling, time for the latest chapter of A Mission Of Love!**

* * *

Chapter 20: We'll Talk About It Later

 **(The Next Day With Ino and Sai)**

Standing in their shared bathroom, Ino was fixing her makeup and working on her unusually unruly hair in preparation of going out to the bar tonight with the group. And while she usually spent an appropriate amount of time- at least in her opinion, contrary to what her former teammates say, -on her appearance while off of missions, this mission required her to keep up her appearances, much to her joy. Not that she could complain if she tried, she had been supplied with every high end beauty product she could ever ask for.

Glancing over at the clock on the counter she realized that she had spent a little more time getting ready than she had intended. It was already a quarter till and they should have already left. Giving herself one last once over in the mirror, the Yamanaka heiress couldn't help but smile at her outfit. It was a simple but gorgeous strapless dress that was a little more modest version of a stereotypical 'little black dress' that showed off just enough cleavage but at the same time was modest enough. Ino marveled at the feel of the dress, it was so smooth and soft to the touch that she couldn't help but wishing that would be able to keep the dress after the mission.

"Yeah, good luck with that." She said to the bathroom as she did one last final check and headed out of the large bathroom and into their shared room. Standing in front of the tall, floor length mirror was a very obviously distressed Sai. Ino walked over to her pale roommate and watched him over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. The artist was attempting to tie his tie but was not having very much luck with it. The Yamanaka heiress had to hold back a chuckle, he was amusing to watch.

"Do you need any help, Sai?" She asked from behind him, getting his attention.

Startled because he had not heard her approach, Sai fumbled his words and even more with the tie and attempted to fix it. "Uh no, I-I should be able to fix it myself, t-thank you."

She gave him another look through the mirror, she knew that he had absolutely no idea how to tie his tie, as she had to tie it for him everyday. But yet he still tried everyday to do it himself, to prove that he could, she guessed. He never could do it though, so Ino would always have to tie it for him. The Yamanaka heiress was still amazed that none of the males on the mission knew how to tie a tie. How was it that she was the only one of them that knew how to do it? It didn't make any sense to her.

"Come here, don't be so hard-headed, let me tie it." She said as she walked in front of the struggling former Root member and took the tie from his hands. He attempted to take it back but she lightly swatted his hand away. "We're going to die of old age before you figure out how to tie your tie correctly." She laughed lightly at her words.

Taking the tie from Sai, she straightened out the fabric and smoothed the seems a few times in her hands. Somehow he had managed to twist it around on itself a few times in an attempt to tie it. Finally managing to straighten it, she reached forwards and up slightly and draped the tie around his neck. Moving in a bit closer unconsciously in order to work on the tie she realized a few things; The first being that she was feeling a bit warm, uncomfortably warm actually, like she was draped in a large blanket. The second being that it was most likely the man in front of her that was making her feel this way. The third being that something had to be wrong with the second realization. This was Sai, she was just helping him tie his tie, again. There was no reason for her breathing to be slightly hitched or for her checks to feel warm. She knew what this sensation meant, but she'd be damned before she admitted it to herself.

Maybe it's just because it's awkward to be this close, she thought. Yeah, that had to be it, there was no other reason for her to be feeling this way. Blinking a few times she realized that she had been distracted and had completely messed up the tie. It was somehow worse than his feeble attempt. How she managed this, only Kami knew. Moving to untie and fix it, she was about to look up to apologize when she felt his eyes on her.

Glancing up slightly without moving her head, the blonde beauty looked up to Sai's face to find him looking right at her, looking right at her cleavage would be more correct.

Blushing, Ino tried to act natural as she worked on his tie. Was he... checking _her_ out? Did he even do that? Had she ever seen or heard of him doing that to a girl before? There were a few rumors going on in the village of if he actually liked men with all of his strange 'penis' talk with the guys. Mentally shaking her head she tossed that last thought away, she did _not_ need to be thinking about _those_ at the moment. Her mind was going a thousand miles a minute as it was. Was there a reason for his starring? There had to be, right? Was it just that she just a few inches away and her chest was literally right in his face?

Her cheeks darkened even more. How had she not realized that? She was practically shoving them in his face! He had no other place to look than except right at her face. And at this moment Ino wasn't sure which she would prefer, she did _not_ want him to see her like this. It would only confuse him more and make it even more awkward than it has been the past few days. It must be the closeness, she thought. Yeah, that had to be it, the reason for his starring at her cleavage, the closeness. That, and the fact that he was a male, with male desires, he couldn't help but look.

Ino had to hold back her face from going any redder, that last thought was _not_ helping the situation. Now she was thinking of male desires when she was already so flustered and close to a relatively attractive guy, not helping at all. Bad thoughts, go away, she thought, trying to shoo the slightly perverse thoughts from her head.

It seemed like an eternity but she had finally managed to fix his tie. Immediately she turned around and headed towards the closet to grab her purse. It seemed to her that he wanted to say something but she didn't give him the chance, her thoughts her all jumbled and her mind was all over the place. What she needed now was a few drinks to help calm her nerves and get these things out of her head.

oooOooo

Everything was going fine on their way to the bar. They were both silent and that was just how the blonde woman wanted it. Her mind was _finally_ clearing of her perverse thoughts. They would be at the bar in a few minutes and she would finally be able to consume some much needed alcohol. That was, until their path was blocked by a very large old man who walked right in front of their path and seemed to root himself there.

Ino was about to open her mouth to speak when the man let out a wolf whistle before giving her a perverted grin. "My my, what do we have here?" The old man said as he took a small step closer to the young pair.

"Who might you be, beautiful? I don't think that I've had the pleasure to make your acquaintance yet." The old man said.

"What do you want?" Ino asked a little angrily. She knew that this old man was trying to hit on her. Was he crazy? He was old enough to be her grandfather, was he really expecting her to humor him like this?

The man gave a smirk. "Hmmph. A short temper I see." He then stepped closer and practically forced himself in between her and Sai, nearly knocking the pale man back. "I would like to hire your… _services_ , for the night." He said nonchalantly, as if it was a perfectly reasonable question to ask, which it definitely wasn't.

"My what?" She demanded. She jabbed a finger at the perverted old man's chest. "I don't know who you think you-."

She was forcefully cut off by a firm grab around her wrist that pulled her accusing finger away from the old man. Turning to look to her side, Ino could see a very large and very muscular man with an earpiece and sunglasses holding her wrist firmly. His lower arm and wrist were showing slightly and she could see several faded scars running across them. On his hands he wore a pair of darkened brass knuckles with grooves on the flat side. Looking back at the old man, Ino saw another man in an identical black haori to the other man, standing behind him.

The old man started again. "Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself. My apologies." He said with fake sincerity. "My name is Mano Morinosuke, and _I_ am the owner of the Howaitosanzu Private Resort and Spa." He ended with a smug smile then turned his head slightly to the side. "Release her, she is of no threat to me." He told his bodyguard with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Rubing her wrist where she was held, Ino looked the old man up and down a few times. Completely taken aback at his appearance. From what she had heard about him from the other guests and Shikamaru, she expected a fat, squat, balding man in a bad suit that had the top few buttons of his shirt undone to be how he looked. But he was the furthest thing from her expectations possible. First of all, he was not a fat old man, he stood at six and half feet tall(1.98m), was a literal mountain of a man with his broad shoulders and obvious muscular chest and arms, and wore a traditional dark navy haori with what must've been his family crest on either side of his chest. Scattering his exposed skin of his neck, face and hands were faded scars, many of whom looked bad enough to be fatal, such as the large one on his neck and the deep gash that went across one of his eyes. This man, this Mano Morinosuke, was the furthest thing from what she had expected. In all honesty, what they had expected was a pushover of a man, someone easily swayed by money and violence, someone who, if put pressure on, would easily fold to their wishes and demands. But this man, from just his aura alone, was anything but. They should have seen this coming, this man ran one of the largest smuggling and crime rings outside of the shinobi nations. He had a literal army of mercenaries at his command.

"Now, young lady, I ask again, whom might you be?" He questioned, his voice lowering slightly from his already intimidating baritone voice.

"M-Mikami, Ichika Mikami." She answered, cursing herself for her nervous stuttering.

The old man smiled. "Good. Was that so hard? Honestly, kids these days, they have no respect for authority." Mano told to the two young ninja.

"So, what do you say, Mikami?" He asked, stepping even closer, uncomfortably close for the Yamanaka heiress. "I would of course pay you handsomely for your services."

Stepping back and to the side closer to Sai, Ino found her voice again. "Thank you for your offer, Morinosuke-san, but I must decline your request." She replied respectfully. Ino knew that angering this man was not a wise decision, and even as much as she wanted to use her jutsu and make him think that he was an eight year old girl named Misa who had a pet goldfish named Ryuk and had an obsessive love for the color purple for the rest of his natural life, she knew that they had to somehow manipulate this man into letting them close to the inner circle of the ring. For a moment, a _brief_ moment mind you, Ino considered using her kunoichi training to seduce the old man but when a shiver went down her spine she admitted to herself that she did _not_ want to exchange her 'services' for information. She was _not_ that kind of kunoichi.

Mano didn't flinch at her decline of his request. The old man only seemed to think something over in his head for a second before stepping closer to the pair again. Ino stepped behind and was basically using Sai as a meat shield at the moment from the old man.

"Could I ask you to reconsider, young lady?" He asked, his voice confusingly... kind. Not what she expected. He looked into her eyes with his own darkened ones. "You are by far the most beautiful woman I have laid eyes on in years. Believe me when I tell you that I could literally pay you your weight in gold for the night."

This man was persistent, she had to give him that, but he seemed to be more sensible and held back than she initially assumed. He hadn't yelled, hurt them or anything of that sort. He was actually acting genuinely respectful, apart from you know, the whole trying to pay her for the night thing. The blonde beauty wondered if the bad words about him were overly dramatizided. He didn't seem to be living up to the expectations the other guests set for him.

"Again, I'm sorry but the answer is still a no." Ino said from behind her pale shield, but was starting to move out from behind him since Mano wasn't appearing to pose an actual threat to her. "Now, if you'll excuse us, my boyfriend and I are on our way to go meet up with some friends, and we are already late."

Mano gave the couple a half smile before nodding to his bodyguards, motioning them out of their way. "Well if you change your mind, be sure to let me know. I must be on my way, goodday to you both." He said with a slight nod of his head.

Ino let out a breath she didn't know that she was holding when the old man, along with his two guards turned around and started walking away. Turning to apologize to the pale ninja for basically using him as a human shield, Ino was about to open her mouth when Sai opened his mouth and directed his voice to the retreating back of Mano Morinosuke.

"Take that back!" Sai yelled to Mano. "You have no right to say that about Ichika."

Ino was confused, had Mano said something as he was leaving that she didn't hear? That was a possibility, Sai's training pushed his senses to near superhuman levels. She watched as the large man turned around halfway and stopped walking.

"You are just an perverted old man!" Sai continued to yell. "Turn around and apolo-" He was cut off when a blur darted towards him. Ino didn't see it when it happened but when her brain registered what happened she realized that the old man was standing in front of Sai, with a large fist jammed into his gut.

Sai toppled over clutching his stomach and Mano stood tall over the smaller man. "What was I just talking about?" He asked aloud darkly, his deep baritone voice shaking inside of her skull. "Kids these days really have no respect for authority." Effortlessly pushing Sai backwards and into Ino's frightened arms, Mano turned around and started heading back towards his men. He stopped briefly and turned around.

"No wonder you kids are so weak these days, you are all talk. Hmph. Back in my day a man was judged by the strength he wielded, not by the size of his trust fund." Spitting at Sai's feet, Mano gave a cruel smirk before turning back around and walking away.

"S-, Touma!" Ino yelled as she helped him to his feet, almost not remembering to use his undercover name in the situation. This was _wrong_ , all wrong, this man was just supposed to be an old rich man who they could easily capture and interrogate, he wasn't supposed to be able to topple a ninja at Sai's level with one forceful punch to the gut. He wasn't supposed to be able to move faster than the eye of an shinobi could see. What was happening? How were they supposed to covertly take out a man such as him?

Spitting up a little blood, Sai stood back up and glared at the man. "I have to admit, I did not see that coming." He told Mano. "But a surprise attack isn't a sign of strength, it's a sign of cowardness." He mocked the old man. Ino couldn't believe her ears, was Sai really taunting this man? _Sai?_ He's always been level headed and the one _least_ likely to fall into a rage like this. What was going on with him? What was making him so upset?

"Sai." She whispered into his ear as she held onto his arm in an attempt to hold him back. "What in Kami's name are you doing? Let's just go."

"No." He replied. "What this man said is unforgivable. He must be forced to apologize."

"Apologize? I didn't even hear him say anything though. Come on, let's just go."

"No." Sai said. Mano stared at the pale man and raised an eyebrow.

"A glutton for punishment, huh?" He gestured to his bodyguards with a sight nod of his head. "Oh, well. Guess I'll just have to beat the idea of respect into you until you learn to respect your better." With his final word his two guards ran towards the young pair, fists raised and knives drawn.

The first man was on Sai in under a second, throwing a punch straight for his head, dodging to the side quickly, Sai grabbed his wrist and twisted it, giving an audible snapping sound as the man yelled in pain. Shoving the first man to the side, the second man thrusted his knife into the air where Sai's head had occupied not a second before. Displaying a rather impressive flurry of punches, the man managed to land a hit to Sai's side just before Sai jumped onto the man's shoulder and performed an aerial takedown by slamming his head to the ground. Ino heard a solid 'thud' as the man went unconscious. Slowly taking his stand above the two dispatched guards, Sai glared at Mano.

"My my…" Morinosuke said as he slowly made his way over to Sai. Cracking his knuckles and popping his neck as we did. "Impressive. Those two guards cost a hefty amount. Hmph. I was told that they would be worth the cost. Clearly, I was sold an _inferior_ product." He said evenly.

"Now, _boy_ , if you wish to go again then be my guest, I could use the exercise, but…" He trailed off just as he got within a few feet of Sai.

"But?" Sai asked, still in his defensive stance, arms raised, his left hand holding a stolen knife from one of the guards.

"But I think that I have a better offer." He said as he lowered his arms. Sai kept his arms up. "Come work for me as my personal security. It is obvious that you can hold your own, at least a little. So, what do you say?"

Ino was still surprised at this man, was he really offering to hire the man who took out his security? Was he not upset at all for Sai challenging him? She sent a worried look to Sai, hopefully he noticed it and came to his senses, they needed to get out of there as soon as possible while Mano Morinosuke wasn't upset.

Lowering his arms slightly Sai let out a held breath. "No thank you, I could not work for you."

Mano just seemed to shrug at this, apparently unaffected by this, as if it didn't bother him at all. "Oh well, it was worth a shot at least, was it not?" He took a step closer to Sai and held out his hand to him. It took the two ninja a few seconds to realize that he was holding out his hand to shake. After a few more seconds hesitation Sai took his hand and slowly shook it.

"I was wrong about you, Touma…" He trailed off, realizing that he didn't know his last name.

"Masuda." Sai answered his unasked question.

"I was wrong about you, Touma Masuda-san. You are clearly a strong man in your own right." He then turned to Ino and slightly bowed his head in apology. Turning back to Sai he continued. "Please, accept my apologizes. You have a beautiful woman there, a true goddess among men. Make sure that you take care of her." He gave a slight smile and turned to make his leave before saying one last thing over his shoulder.

"Consider yourself lucky, Ichika-san, only once in a lifetime will you ever find a man like him. Do not mess it up." With a brief wave he walked away, leaving the two ninja stunned and his two men on the ground unconscious. "Oh, one last thing, tell them that they are fired when they wake, would you? I have no use for _useless_ things."

oooOooo

 **(With everyone)**

Sitting down at the far end of the bar at a single round table were the six undercover ninja. Shikamaru and Temari were the first to arrive, Naruto and Sakura were next to follow, last to arrive were Ino and Sai. Shikamaru and Temari already had acquired and started working on their drinks when Ino and Sai sat down.

"Where were you two?" Shikamaru asked as he took a sip of his drink. "You were supposed to be here a half an hour ago."

Ino gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry, we ran into the owner of the resort and got… held up." She wasn't sure how much to tell them. What would Shikamaru say about Sai's actions? Would he be upset that Sai lost his cool like that? Most likely, Shikamaru was the captain of this mission. Best not to tell them about Sais unusual behavior.

Putting his drink down, he continued. "You ran into Mr. Morinosuke?" He asked softly.

Ino nodded her head 'yes'.

"What happened?" He asked. Why did he have to ask that, Ino thought. She was unsure of whether or not to tell them what Sai did, so she told them the gist of what happened, leaving out Sai's actions, of course.

"So what you're saying is that this man is strong and fast enough to catch Sai off guard like that?" Shikamaru questioned the pair.

"Yes." Sai replied. "He moved faster than I could react, honestly I didn't even see him move."

The Nara heir raised his hand to his chin, sighing. "This complicates things, we were under the impression that no one here would be much of a threat. We'll have to be cautious around him. Especially if he is able to hire more guards of his or a higher caliber."

The six ninja agreed and continued to talk for a few more minutes about it until the conversation eventually turned causal, as the group had not been able to fully come together and talk for a while. Turning to small talk, Ino tried to distract herself from thinking about what Sai did and instead focused on something that immediately caught her attention. Sakura and Naruto were acting strange, well more strange than they usually acted together. But strange nonetheless.

For some reason, the normally talky and friendly pair seemed to be avoiding each other. Or at least, to the blonde they seemed to be trying to avoid each other's gaze but they both kept stealing glances at each other whenever they thought the other wasn't looking. Ino raised a brow at this, she knew that Sakura could sometimes act nervous around Naruto but he normally was unfazed, he was Naruto after all. Ino watched as they sat next to each other, as far from each other as they could, she couldn't help but notice, trying to hold a normal conversation with the other people at the table.

Something is going on between them, I know it. Ino thought. She could tell that something had happened between the two very recently. While she was going to press forehead for more information later she thought that now was a good as time as ever to ask what happened.

"What's going on, Forehead?" She asked out of the blue, interrupting Shikamaru as he told some lame excuse for a joke to Temari.

Sakura's eyes went to Ino's and widened. Had she been that obvious that something happened? "W-what are you talking about, Ichika? N-nothing is going on." She stuttered out, not at all convincingly.

Ino raised her brow at the obvious lie. She turned to Naruto. "So, tell me, what did you do?" She asked the village hero.

"Nothing happened!" He almost yelled as he flailed his hands wildly. "I didn't do anything!"

A second later the group heard Naruto let out a short 'ooph', it was obvious that Sakura hit him under the table and was trying to be sneaky about it but failed.

"So something did happen!" Ino leaned closer to the pair and pointed her finger at them, accusingly. "I knew it!"

"No, nothing happened." Sakura continued. "We, we-"

"We only had a little argument last night." Naruto answered for her. "Nothing to worry about." He tried his best to give a convincing smile.

"Uh huh." The Yamanaka heiress didn't believe them for a second, and from the looks of the others they didn't either. And as much as she wanted to continue pressing the two on it she knew that they wouldn't spill, at least not yet.

From there the conversation went back to normal as Naruto and Sakura managed to look at each other for the first time since they arrived, and for the first time that day in fact.

"Shika," Temari whispered to her boyfriend as she leaned close. "What do you think happened between them?" She asked.

"I don't know." He answered, keeping his voice low as well. "But from the reactions we got I think that it's safe to say that it was big, whatever it was."

Nodding her head she agreed. "I agree. I just wish I could hear what they're saying, though." She said as she motioned her head to the blond and pinkette who were busy whispering very fast and in a hushed manner to each other on the other side of the table.

"Yeah, but whatever it is it's none of our business, so we shouldn't interrogate them about it." The Nara heir said, much to the dismay of his girlfriend.

On the other side of the table Naruto and Sakura were having a very hushed conversation;

"Can we _please_ talk about this later, Naruto?" Sakura asked, very hushed and very, _very_ quickly. "Now is not the time _nor_ the place!"

"But that's exactly what you said when we were alone in our room, that it wasn't the time." He countered. "This is the longest conversation we've had all day."

Sakura turned her gaze to the side for a moment as he continued. "Are you angry at me, Sakura-chan?" He asked, his voice not as rushed as before.

She turned her eyes back to him, at least back to where he generally was. "Why would you think I'm angry at you?" She asked, confused.

"Well... you _did_ leave before I woke up." He said quietly. "And you've been avoiding me all day. This is the first time we've been together all day."

He paused for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan."

She looked at him confused. Why was he sorry?

"I'm sorry if I sort of talked you into… it… last night. You have to know that that wasn't my intention." He gave her a soft smile. "You said that you weren't ready, I'm sorry."

Reaching under the table Sakura lightly grabbed his hand as she tried to keep up a calm facade to the others, she was struggling to keep a straight face, however, memories of the night before kept flashing into her mind, distracting her. "Don't apologize, Naruto. You don't have to. I'm not upset with you." She quickly dismissed his worries, she didn't want him stressing over it anymore than he already had.

A smile made it's way across his face. "Good, I was really worried since you hadn't said anything all day."

"I'm sorry." She apologized before pausing for a second to give him a smile. "But let's talk about this later, okay? I don't want the others to know, at least not yet."

"I understand, Sakura-chan." He whispered back to her. Turning his face back to the others, Naruto realized that they were looking at them.

"So," Ino started. "What were you two talking about? I heard something about last night and not being ready?"

'Crap.' The two blushing ninja thought in unison. Naruto was quick to speak though. "Oh Sakura-chan said that she wasn't ready to accept my apology yet from last night." He lied as he scratched the back of his head. "But I'm not giving up yet!" He finished enthusiastically, hopefully his usual over the top nature would throw off the Torture and Intelligence member, he didn't bet on it though.

"Mmhmm." Ino wasn't convinced but she decided to press Sakura about it later in private. She was still feeling a bit uncomfortable around Naruto, not as bad as before, but she felt more comfortable asking her pink haired friend instead of him. "Whatever you say."

"It's true." Naruto continued. "Really, nothing is-."

"Heads up, he's here." Shikamaru cut them off, his voice indicating that they needed to get their heads in the game.

The group looked in unison- but also discreetly as to not tip anyone off- at the entrance where a man in front of small group of people walked into the bar and headed to the counter, talking to the bartender.

"Shou Hiroto." Sakura said with disdain, she still did not like that man.

"He's finally here, now we can begin." Temari said.

The Nara heir turned his head to Naruto. "You remember what we talked about?" He asked. He was referring to the plan of having Naruto befriend Shou to get them access to the crime ring.

The blond hero nodded his head. "Yup, but I still don't know why you guys think that _I_ am the best person for this. Shou kinda hates me."

"True." Shikamaru admitted. "But it's been my experience that no one can stay mad at you for any extended length of time. Trust me, this will work."

The combined Uzumaki and Namikaze heir gave his usual smile and nodded. If Naruto had learned one thing in his time as a ninja it was that you could always trust Shikamaru when it came to this type of thing. He wasn't considered one of the smarted shinobi in the world for nothing. The Nara had never steered him wrong before, so why should he question him now?

Coming to stand, Naruto gave one last smile to Sakura, who quickly found herself blushing, and headed off to the counter confidentially.

"200 ryō says Shou punches him again." Temari said as she took a ship of her drink. Her boyfriend gave a disapproving look before holding back a chuckle.

Not thirty seconds later did the ninja group find themselves in the same exact situation as before. Naruto holding Shou's fist in his hand as the man tried helplessly to flail at his opponent.

Naruto let out a long sigh before letting go of Shou's fist, slightly pushing the man back a few feet and into the counter. "Look," Naruto started, his hands up as if he were surrendering. "I'm not here for a fight, Shou." Naruto said evenly.

"Oh yeah?" Shou took a step closer to him. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here for _business arrangements_." The blond said, keeping his voice low. Shou reacted immediately, holding back his anger and lowering his fist. Raising an eyebrow he looked Naruto up and down.

"So _you're_ here to see my uncle?" He asked, skeptical. "I don't believe it, he wouldn't associate with someone like _you_. Besides, this… _business group_ , is very exclusive, just not anyone can get in. You're going to need to know some pretty high up people to even get an audience with my uncle."

"In a manner of speaking, yes." The blond said. "I've been told that this was a great place to meet… future business partners. And don't worry, I have connections that will _more_ than vouch for me." He said, trying his best to sound legitimate. When Shou didn't seem impressed Naruto slid his hand into his inner jacket pocket before placing a small gold coin onto the counter and sliding it towards Shou. Glancing around him slowly as he did. Shou gave a slightly curious look before picking up the small coin and examining it. When he saw it he nearly dropped it and cursed, obviously taken aback. His face went pale, as if all the blood washed from his face, the hand that held the coin started shaking uncontrollably and his voice came out stuttered and hoarse.

"H-how do y-you… W-who are _you_?" He managed to get out. His mouth agape and his eyes wide as he stared awestruck at the blond man.

Naruto gave a smug smile as he grabbed the coin back and slid it into his pocket discreetly before answering. "Yuuto Ishihara, Wakagashira(First Lieutenant, not literal translation, see AN), I'm here representing Mr. Shinoda." Naruto watched the man squirm in front of him, clearly his bluff was working. He had to hold back a smile as he continued. "Is that satisfactory enough?" He asked, his voice sounding smug and powerful.

"Y-yes sir!" Shou quickly said before going even more pale and bowing his head low. "I am s-sorry for my previous actions! I-I didn't know who you were or who you w-worked for. I w-wouldn't have treated you that way if I'd known!" He said very quickly.

The blond dismissed his words with a wave of his hand. His old role was starting to feel as normal as his own name. He could never forget how to do this, it was like second nature once again. "No need for apologies, Shou-san, luckily for you I am not a man to hold a grudge." Naruto heard him let out a very relieved sigh. "But, if you _ever_ touch or talk to my girlfriend like that again you will have to answer to _me_. Are. We _Clear_?"

The already paling man went white as a sheet. He sent a worried look to Sakura behind the blond and looked back to the man in front of him. "Aye, sir! I am sorry, I meant no disrespect towards you or to her. Please, allow me to apologise personally!"

Sakura was busy trying to avoid Ino's attempts to get information out of her as she tried her best to not watch Naruto talk to Shou when the two men in question started walking up to them.

"Well, that was easier than I thought." Shikamaru said.

The pinkette watched as Shou walked right up to her and stopped a foot away from the table. She was about to open her mouth to ask what was going on when he quickly bowed his head very low.

"Hana Fukushima, I apologise for my previous actions! I was out of line treating you like that. I am sorry! Please, accept my apologies!"The man rushed out, clearly distressed and scared. But the question in the mind of the five ninja was, why?

"Um… thank you?" The pink haired medic was confused, what did Naruto say to this guy? This was unlike anything she had expected to come from a man such as Shou.

At hearing her forgiveness Sakura heard Shou let out a long sigh of relief, as if he was worried that she wouldn't forgive him. What was going on? What did Naruto say to this man?

The pinkette gave her boyfriend a confused look and he returned it with a look that read 'I'll tell you later'. Satisfied with that answer, she let it go.

"Now that that's settled," Naruto said, sounding different, he seemed more serious and businesslike. "I would like to get to meeting Mr. Morinosuke as soon as possible."

Shou gave a slightly worried expression before answering. "Sorry sir, but my uncle is currently unavailable at the moment. He is entertaining some… company tonight. He asked to not be disturbed."

"I understand, Mr. Morinosuke is a very busy man, fortunately, I have a very open schedule. But make sure to contact him soon. My boss is not as understanding as I am, he expects a message from me in a few days time." Naruto stepped closer to him and lowered his voice so that his friends couldn't hear. "I'm sure that you're aware of the man whom I represent, he is known for many things, but patience is _not_ one of them."

"I-I understand, sir." Shou said sheepishly. "I will have word sent to him as soon as possible."

"Good. See that you do." Naruto said before standing up a little straighter. "Thank you for your time but that concludes my business for tonight, I would like to enjoy a few drinks with my associates. You are dismissed." He finished with a wave of his hand, waving Shou away.

"Of course, Yuuto-san. Please, enjoy your drinks free of charge, I will let the staff know." He finished with a low bow towards Naruto and then gave another bow towards the remaining ninja sitting at the table before turning around and quickly walking away. He was acting as if he was trying to be discreet about running for his life. The group at the table saw this and became even more confused.

"What just happened?" Shikamaru asked as soon as Shou got out of earshot.

"Yeah, what was that about, Whiskers?" Ino said. "What did you say to him? He looked like he was about to pee himself."

"Why did he apologise to me?" Sakura asked. "Not that I'm not a little happy that he did, it's just that it was a little… weird."

The group of ninja all looked to their blond friend with questioning eyes as he sat down next to Sakura. "Huh? Oh, nothing, I just had to use some persuasion is all. Don't worry about it." He said, trying to get them to drop the subject, he did not want to talk about it.

The entire group gave him a look and he let out a sigh. "Fine, just keep your voices down." He said as he reached into his pocket. Placing a coin on the table he prepared himself for a barrage of questions.

Shikamaru reached for the coin and looked at it, his face went pale. Temari stole the coin and inspected it for three seconds before letting out a yell.

"Why do you have a Yak-" She was cut of by a 'shh' from Naruto.

"I told you guys to keep it down, didn't I?"

"Sorry." Temari replied, a little sheepish. "But why in Kami's name do you have a Yakuza Crest Coin?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"It's a long story." Naruto answered, hoping that it would be enough, it wasn't. He let out a sigh before going into length about his 'connection' to the world famous criminal organization.

 **(A few minutes later…)**

"So Jiraiya-sama had connections to the Yakuza through his spy organization?" Shikamaru asked. "And when he died he gave all of his possessions to you, including his connections with organizations like the Yakuza?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah, Pervy Sage used this coin to get out of a lot of sticky situations in the past. A few years back he indoctrinated me into it, I, or more so my alias, holds an actual high ranking spot in the Yakuza." He explained.

"What rank are you, surely it can't be that high since you are, you know, a spy." Temari asked.

"I'm an Wakagashira, a first lieutenant. And I actually have a lot of sway, for an outsider at least. Pervy Sage was held in a very high regard for the last few decades, or at least his alias was. He made arrangements that I take his place when he died, so now I'm a high ranking member of the local Yakuza under the current Oyabun(Family Boss)." His explanations made sense to him but as he saw the confused faces of his friends he knew that they were completely confused.

"So what, you're a big shot with the people around here?" Ino asked.

"If by people you mean with the local gangs and criminal organizations, then yes." Naruto said. "In a way, kinda, I'm not that high up compared to other people, especially around here, but as soon as I use the big boss's name I can generally get whatever information I want. Since I directly report to him, or at least my alias does, my word is basically his word, so no death-fearing man will ever oppose me."

"Wait, if you're such a big shot in the underworld than why don't you use your sway more often?" Ino asked. "And why didn't you tell us this before the mission? If we knew then we could've changed our plan. We could've just sent you in and had you show of the coin to Morinosuke, ordered him around and captured him, wrapping up the mission right there?"

She raised several good points, the other ninja at the table thought them over and wondered the same thing.

"That's simple." Naruto started. "Because it's dangerous. You don't exactly play around when using these names. This whole thing relies on Morinosuke not checking with Mr. Shinoda. Even though he generally let's me go about my business since he was friends with Pervy Sage, he's not ordering me to be here, so in a way I'm going behind his back. If he or his men found out then I would have to answer for my actions. Believe me, you do _not_ want to piss these guys off."

"So what you're saying is that you have to use this power with discretion? So that no one actually in the Yakuza finds out?" Shikamaru asked.

"Exactly." Naruto answered. "Kakashi-sensei knows a bit of my connection to the Yakuza, but I told him before that I don't like flashing this coin around. So he most likely wasn't planning on having my use this trump card on this mission."

"Makes sense." Ino said.

"I still don't get some of it but I'll trust your judgement, Naruto." Temari of the Sand said.

"Are you connected to more than one Yakuza faction?" Sai asked, curious.

"Hell no." Naruto said quickly. "If they found out I'd have the entire fifty-five thousand member organization on my butt, I'm trying to become Hokage anyway. I don't want this to get out, the council might not take the news kindly that I'm a member of the single largest criminal organization in the world. So please, do _not_ tell anyone about this." He clapped his hands together in a begging motion.

"Don't worry, Naruto." Shikamaru assured him. "None of us here would ever do something that would affect your ability to become Hokage. I am going to be your advisor, remember? My first job is to ensure that you become the Hokage."

Naruto smiled at his friend, he was about to thank him when he saw Shou walking up towards the table. The blond quickly hid his smile and adopted his more stern demeanor of his role, he was a high ranking member of the Yakuza who took direct orders from the Yakuza boss Kenichi Shinoda, he needed to act like it.

Standing as Shou reached the table Naruto gave a quick hand sign to tell the others to let him handle the talking. "Shou-san, is there a problem?" He asked, causing the man to wince a little. "I thought that I told you that I was going to enjoy some drinks with my associates?"

"My apologies, sir, but that is why I'm here." Shou answered. As he finished a waitress appeared with a serving tray filled to the brim with drinks. "I would be honored to drink with you, Ishihara-san. I understand that it is Yakuza tradition to drink when business is made."

Naruto bit his lip discreetly, Shou knew more he expected, hopefully he was as dumb as he seemed. "That is true." Naruto admitted. "But we usually don't drink until _after_ we conduct business."

"I understand, sir, but I insist, it would be an honor to drink with someone of your rank." Shou said as he motioned for the server to start pouring drinks.

So that's it, Naruto thought. He's trying to buddy up to me to try to gain power, ha, no actual self respecting member would fall for that. Sighing, Naruto sat down and motioned for Shou to take the seat to his left.

As the server started to ask for drink orders Shou started talking. "Mr. Ishihara, if I may so bold as to ask, but why is the leader of the Yakuza wishing to partner with us?"

Naruto waived his hand, causing Shou to pull back a little. This man was so scared of him, Naruto had to hold back a laugh, it was just too easy. "I do not make it a habit to talk business before I get a few drinks in me."

"My apologies, sir."

When the waitress reached Naruto he wondered what he was supposed to do, he didn't drink but as per tradition he was supposed to. Thinking it over a few seconds he decided that he'd have to drink to make it seem authentic.

Ordering his drink, Naruto directed the waitress to Sakura who seemed to be deep in thought. "Hana-chan?" He asked, using her undercover name in front of Shou. "Hana my love?"

Blinking a few times Sakura seemed to snap out of her daze. When she saw the waitress kindly waiting for her drink order she gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. Uh, do you have any non alcoholic drinks?" She asked.

"Of course, miss." The waitress answered. "We have a wide selection of non alcoholic drinks to choose from." As she started to list off the selection, Naruto gave Sakura a confused look, wasn't she planning on drinking tonight? The last he knew she was planning on drinking for the first time tonight, what changed her mind?

After the waitress left to get their specific drinks Naruto leaned over to Sakura. "I thought that you were going to drink tonight?" He asked, whispering. "We were all planning on actually drinking tonight to have some fun."

The pinkette's face went a shade of red and she tried to hide it. "I uh, well I-, I just changed my mind." She whispered back, secretly freaking out that he was asking. Hopefully he would drop it. But, being Naruto, he didn't.

"Why?" He asked. "If you're worried about getting drunk then don't worry, I won't let you. I'll stop you way before you get to that point."

"No no, it's not that." She said in a hushed voice. "I'm just…"

"Just what?" He asked.

"I-, I might…" She paused, trying to keep her nerves under control. She was also trying to convince herself that she was wrong, that there was nothing to worry about. It was a one in a thousand chance, so she needn't be worried about it. So she should just enjoy herself and drink tonight. Nothing bad will happen right? But, if her fears _were_ correct, then something bad could happen. Should she risk it?

"Hana-chan?" He asked, a little concerned at her strange behavior. "Whats wrong? You know you can tell me, right? Whatever it is, I'll do whatever I have to do. If you want something else then I can just ask and it'll be here in minutes. Whatever you want, just let me know so I can help you." Blushing at his concern for her and his want to make her happy, the pinkette was once again reminded why she loved this man. He would move mountains to make her happy, no one else would ever go that far for her.

"I uh, I'm just a little worried about drinking tonight." She admitted, and while it was partily true she still felt bad about lying to him. But she shouldn't tell him now, should she? She wasn't even sure herself yet.

"Why?" He asked.

"Let's talk about it later, okay? Please, Naru-kun?" She whispered even lower, using her private name for him.

"Of course, my love, anything you want." He gave her a big 'Naruto' smile before turning to Shou as he started talking about something.

Sakura ignored them though. Her mind was reeling at the moment, she didn't know if she should tell him yet. Everytime she tried to convince herself that there was nothing to worry about she was met with the same feeling, that she was wrong. She couldn't explain it. Call it a woman's intuition call it the voice of Kami, she didn't know, but it told her over and over to _not_ drink tonight. Listening to her mysterious voice in her head she conceded, she wouldn't drink or do anything that could risk hurting the baby- if it was even there- until she performed a test and was one hundred percent sure she was in the clear.

After a few hours, and after many, _many_ drinks were consumed by the group, they decided to call it a night. Naruto finished his talk with Shou after a while so the ninja got to spend most of the night relaxing with each other drinking, laughing and just acting like normal young adults.

oooOooo

 **(With Shikamaru and Temari later that night)**

Returning to their villa at well past midnight, the two ninja decided that they best be going to bed since they had to be getting up in the morning. They were both in bed and in the process to fall asleep, that is, until Temari suddenly popped a question as the pair laid in bed holding each other, trying to sleep.

"Hey, Shika, you awake?" She asked the man whom her head was laying on.

"Of course, Tem, with this much alcohol in me it takes a while for me to fall asleep." Looking down to his girlfriend he let out a sigh. "Don't look at me like that, it's not like a drink all the time."

"I know." Said the Sand ninja as they laid in the dark. After half a minute Shikamaru spoke up again.

"You were going to ask me something?" He asked, even in his slightly inebriated state he could sense her hesitation. He could feel that her heart rate was slightly erratic, saying that she was worried about something.

Temari bit her lip, she was a bit worried asking this. "What, what are we going to do after the mission?" She asked.

Not realizing that he was absentmindedly playing with her hair he replied. "Well when we get back to the village we'll report to Kakashi-sensei and give our report. We'll also have to give a detailed written report of it as well, after that we'll-"

"No, not that." She cut him off. "I mean us. What are _we_ as a couple going to do after the mission?" She asked.

"I-, I'm going to have to go back to the Sand after the mission and report to Gaara, and I have no idea when I'll be able to come back and see you." She pulled herself tighter into him and increased her grip on him. Maybe it was the alcohol in her, maybe it was the time of night and being so close to her love, but she was feeling worried for their relationship going further. "What are we going to do? We might not see each other for a few months."

Turning his head to look at her her replied. "Don't worry, Tem. We'll think of something. Besides, I'm not willing to go that long without seeing you, so don't worry." Feeling a smile on her face she gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks, Shika." She said. "But how are you so sure? I can only be in the Leaf when on a mission or an official business, we have no idea when I'll be back."

"Well why don't you just move to the Leaf?" He asked, as if it were a simple thing to do.

"Move to the Leaf?" She asked, taken back. That wasn't exactly an easy thing to do, especially for a ninja like her.

"Yeah, if you move to the Leaf then we'll be able to see each other everyday." He said casually. From the way he was talking, Temari was confident that he was a little under the influence, enough that he wasn't exactly his usual self but not enough that he was drunk. And as it turned out even a slightly tipsy Shikamaru was reasonable and level-headed.

"It not that easy, Shika." She said. "Besides all of the paperwork, regulations, rules and traditions, along with a number of other things I can't just move there. I don't have any Leaf money, so I wouldn't be able to rent an apartment. Besides," She continued. "I don't have enough to rent one anyway."

"Well then why don't you just move in with me?" He asked with absolutely no hesitation at all.

Temari's eyes shot wide as dinner plates, did he just ask her to move in him him?

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey everyone, thanks for reading. Sorry again about the late update but I had a very busy and stressful week.**

 **About Naruto's Yakuza connection I actually got the idea from an episode of Assassination Classroom when the girls used a Yakuza coin to scare of some guys that were hitting on them. Originally I had a completely different idea for this chapter when it came to Naruto and Shou talking but it just seemed to happen. About his rank, Wakagashira, it's a first lieutenant but it's not the literal translation, I don't know what it actually means.**

 **In case anyone doesn't know who he is(and I mean that sarcastically since I'm sure that none of you know of him) Kenichi Shinoda is the name of the head of Japan's largest organized crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi. He's a real life Japanese crime boss, so it seemed to make sense that I use his name.**

 **I know that the Yakuza stuff kind of came out of nowhere but I was trying to come up with more conflict and general stuff for this part of the story. Who knows, I might bring back some Yakuza stuff in later chapters after they talk to Morinosuke.**

 **Speaking of him, let me know what you guys think of his character in a Review of PM, I'd love to know how he was received. I thought for a long time of how to do his character, originally I was planning for him to be how Ino thought he'd be. A fat, short, squat, balding man who was a pushover. And a general sleaze ball and pervert. But I like this version better, I have more work to do for him to flush him out but I want him to be more than a stereotypical one note villain. I was asked if he'd be like the joker, meaning that we both love and hate him at the same time. I don't know if I'll be able to make him that great as a character since I didn't plan for him to be one, but I'll try. But I think he might have potential, as seen with Sai, he is not just a rich, perverted old man, he prefers to get his hands dirty and take out any opposition personally. I'm planning on diving more into him in a later chapter.**

 **But for the next chapter I am planning to continue the talk between Shikamaru and Temari, expect some cute, fluffy moments, and maybe** _ **maybe**_ **something more. Still haven't decided yet but let me know how I'm doing with them as a couple so far.**

 **This has gone on long enough as it is, so I'll see you guys in two weeks(the 28th) with the next chapter.**

 **Later, Hephaestus.**


	21. Ch21: Drunken Conversation

Chapter 21: Drunken Conversation

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey everyone, what, this chapter is coming out early? (Checks what day it is) You're right this chapter is out a day early, I had to do double shifts at work all week and two days last week so I had to spend a lot of time early on to work on writing. That is also one of the reasons why this chapter is a little shorter than normal. The other reason is that the chapter works at the length it is, so I didn't want to make it longer.**

 **I want to give a huge shoutout/thank you to** _ **xblackxhunterx**_ **for beta-ing this chapter for me and giving me some great ideas. The second part of this chapter wouldn't exist if it weren't for him, so give thanks to him for it.**

 **Just a quick heads up, I decided before that I wouldn't give a warning at the start of the chapter for LEMONS but I changed my mind, not everyone is here for them(which you shouldn't be because this isn't that kind of story) so here's the warning. If you don't want to read the Lemon then read up until it and then skip to the next section of the chapter, you'll want to read it, believe me.**

 **With all of that said here's the next chapter of A Mission of Love, hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think of it with a Review.**

 **Hephaestus**

* * *

Chapter 21: Drunken Conversation

 **(A Few Minutes Earlier with Shikamaru and Temari)** _ **(Recap)**_

 _Temari bit her lip, she was a bit worried asking this. "What, what are we going to do after the mission?" She asked._

 _Not realizing that he was absentmindedly playing with her hair he replied. "Well when we get back to the village we'll report to Kakashi-sensei and give our report. We'll also have to give a detailed written report of it as well, after that we'll-"_

" _No, not that." She cut him off. "I mean us. What are we as a couple going to do after the mission?" She asked._

" _I-, I'm going to have to go back to the Sand after the mission and report to Gaara, and I have no idea when I'll be able to come back and see you." She pulled herself tighter into him and increased her grip on him. Maybe it was the alcohol in her, maybe it was the time of night and being so close to her love, but she was feeling worried for their relationship going further. "What are we going to do? We might not see each other for a few months."_

 _Turning his head to look at her her replied. "Don't worry, Tem. We'll think of something. Besides, I'm not willing to go that long without seeing you, so don't worry." Feeling a smile on her face she gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek._

" _Thanks, Shika." She said. "But how are you so sure? I can only be in the Leaf when on a mission or an official business, we have no idea when I'll be back."_

" _Well why don't you just move to the Leaf?" He asked, as if it were a simple thing to do._

" _Move to the Leaf?" She asked, taken back. That wasn't exactly an easy thing to do, especially for a ninja like her._

" _Yeah, if you move to the Leaf then we'll be able to see each other everyday." He said casually. From the way he was talking, Temari was confident that he was a little under the influence, enough that he wasn't exactly his usual self but not enough that he was drunk. And as it turned out even a slightly tipsy Shikamaru was reasonable and level-headed._

" _It not that easy, Shika." She said. "Besides all of the paperwork, regulations, rules and traditions, along with a number of other things I can't just move there. I don't have any Leaf money, so I wouldn't be able to rent an apartment. Besides," She continued. "I don't have enough to rent one anyway."_

" _Well then why don't you just move in with me?" He asked with absolutely no hesitation at all._

 _Temari's eyes shot wide as dinner plates, did he just ask her to move in with him?_

"...W-wha…?" She stuttered out.

"My clan compound might not be as big as the Uchiha or Hyuuga, but I'm sure that we have an empty house or something you can stay in." He said as he mindlessly played with her hair, his words slurring a little. Showing her that he was a little more drunk than he let on.

"...Oh…" She deflated a little. She wasn't upset, just a little disappointed at herself for getting her hopes up. This was Shika after all, he was amazing but he wouldn't just suggest something like that out of the blue. He was far too nervous to do so.

"Yeah," He continued with a smile. "Don't worry about it, I _am_ technically my clan head now, so even if we don't have somewhere you can stay I'll make it work."

"...Thanks, Shika." She replied softly.

He lifted his head up to look at hers that was laying on his chest. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing. I'm fine." She lied, now wasn't the time to talk about it. Besides, it didn't really matter anyway.

"Tem." He spoke, his tone saying 'I know you're lying.'

"Sorry. It's just… I thought you meant something else, is all."

The Nara raised a brow at this. "Huh? Thought I meant something else?"

She turned her head to look off the side of the bed, she didn't want to make a big deal of it but he knew something was wrong. What was she supposed to do, tell him or lie? After a few seconds thought she decided to tell him, knowing that it was best not to lie to him, he'd never lie to her so she shouldn't lie to him.

"Earlier when you said that I should move in with you." She answered.

"Yeah?" He asked, clearly not understanding what she meant. "What about it? I thought that it was a good idea. You could move to the Leaf with me and we could see each other everyday." He was silent for a few seconds. "...Is, do you… _not_ want to move to the Leaf with me?" He asked hesitantly.

Her eyes widened and she lifted her head off of his chest and looked at his face. "What?! No!" She said quickly. "Of course not, Shika. Just the opposite, I want move to the Leaf with you. It's just, that I thought that you were asking me to move in with… _you_."

His face remained still for a few seconds as the words sunk in until his face went red as he realised how his earlier suggestion sounded. "Oh… OH!" He said loudly as the realization hit him. "I uh, see where you got that idea, sorry, Tem. I wasn't even thinking-, I mean, it's not that I don't, I uh, wait, I do it's just that it'd be hard-, not that I'm not willing to try, I uh-." He was cut off of him rambling when he heard Temari's soft laughter.

"What?" He asked as he looked back to her, his free hand rubbing his head as if he had a headache.

"You're so cute." She said as she lightly hugged him before she lightly poked his nose with her finger. "I know what you mean, Shika, don't worry about it."

"Good." He let out a sigh of relief. He returned her hug softly and she repositioned herself back to laying her head on his chest. The room was silent except for their soft breaths for a minute before she spoke up again.

"Did you really mean that?" She asked suddenly.

"Did I mean what?" He asked.

"You don't remember?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I dunno, was it bad? I'm having a little trouble thinking at the moment. Had one too many drinks." He admitted.

She let out a little sigh which ended with a smile. "You're lucky that you're cute, babe." She turned her head to look at him for a moment then went back to where she was before. "I mean about using your clan head status to get me a place to stay in your compound. Would you really do that?" She asked.

"Of course." He said quickly. "Even if the elders or council don't want you to move to the village then I'll just ask Naruto to make them let you when he becomes Hokage." He said simply, as if he was sure it would work. Temari would be doubtful if any other man told her that, but this was Shika, she knew that she could always believe him.

"You really think Naruto would do that if you ask?" Getting citizenship in another ninja village was extremely difficult, how was he so sure? "Make me a member of the Leaf, I mean."

"Yeah, of course. Naruto is one of my closest friends in the world next to Choji and you of course, he owes me a few favors and you know how he is, he'll come through with them." Pausing for a few seconds he lightly kissed the top of her head. "So don't you worry about it one bit, _nothing_ on this earth will keep me from being with you."

The blonde on his chest slowly moved her head up until her lips were so close that she could practically taste them. "I swear to Kami," She paused for a few seconds, taking a breath. "If you don't kiss me right now, I'm gonna-."

But she was unable to finish her sentence when he moved his lips in and claimed hers. From their strange position it was a little uncomfortable but the two kissed until they had to come up for air.

"...You didn't let me finish." She said with a smile as she moved so that she was laying with her stomach on top of him.

"I think I got the gist." He smiled as he continued the kiss.

All time seemed to stop, neither of the two knowing how long they kissed, was it seconds, was it hours, neither of the two cared, as long as they were together. With a superhuman amount of effort, Temari managed to pull away from her boyfriend's lips for a second as she had to catch her breath again, before succumbing to the enticing desire to kiss him again, slowly increasing her speed as she went.

After a few seconds Shikamaru let out a breath as she felt him encircle his arms around her waist, slowly drawing her closer to him. Hands gripping his night shirt tightly, she felt a shiver go down her spine as his tongue met hers as they kissed. Slowly she could feel his tongue enter her mouth, before she did the same with his.

It took her brain a few moments to register that she was slowly raising her nightgown over her head, the only reason she knew was because she felt the cool air of their room against her warm skin. Throwing the practically see-through gown to the side. She gave him a seductive smile before she claimed his lips again.

Shikamaru found his hands roaming her warm flesh before he even knew what was happening. His hands explored the soft skin of her stomach as they made their way up to her breasts. Feeling the fabric of her bra he realised what he was doing, any other time he would turn red, jump back and apologize, but now, now all he wanted to do was feel the entirety of her heavenly body.

She was stopped mid kiss as she felt her boyfriend's hands roam over the fabric of her breasts. Letting out a soft moan she leaned back slightly and began to unlatch them. His hands never left her breast as she removed the fabric, his right hand moving in to play with her nipple.

"Shika…" She heard herself say as he slowly began circling her niple with his finger. He teased and caressed her nipple for what felt like hours as he moved his kisses down her neck and onto her chest.

Even through his shirt she could feel the intensity of his heat. He was like a furnace that she needed to be warmed by. Her hands moved his shirt over his head, getting caught slightly at his head. Using his free hand, he help her pull his shirt over his head, revealing his fit and muscular chest for her to see.

She arched her back as she felt him slip his hands down to cup the supple curves of her rear over the thin, almost non-existent underwear - the only thing standing in between his hands and her skin - bringing her face to a dark red blush.

'Shika.' She thought, still feeling that this could be a dream, this was so unlike him.

She felt herself grinding into him as they both let out a gasp, his fingers tightening on the soft exposed skin on her butt.

'This is real…' She knew this had to be real.

"Tem…" He breathed out against the soft, warm skin of her chest, trying to calm the mad drumming in his chest.

Her own breath was hot as she moved to take his lips again. Her lips brushing lightly against his skin, causing the pair to moan softly.

"Temari…" He couldn't managed to say more than her name.

Her eyes opened to his, he felt himself drowning in her beautiful orbs and forgot what he was going to say - words seeming so meaningless now - as he rained tiny kisses over her face and cheeks, as if he _needed_ to keep his lips in contact with her skin.

"Shika…" She whispered huskily. Her voice sounding like music to his ears.

Feeling her hands at his waists he looked down, his mind went blank, she was in the process of pulling his shorts down.

Whatever level a restraint he held until that moment vanished, he pulled his shorts and underwear down in one quick motion, surprising the blonde. His manhood had been screaming for her since the first kiss, since the first night of their confessions, since the first time he had laid eyes on her. He had been waiting for this moment for as long as he could remember.

Temari jolted, a little surprised at the level of ferocity he was displaying, a quick cry leaving her as she saw his manhood in front of her for the first time.

"Shika…"

She could only whisper his name as she slid her last remaining piece of clothing down her legs…

"Tem," He spoke softly but his voice seemed forced, as if he was struggling, holding back his primal urges. "Please, stop me _now_ if you want to… because Kami, I wouldn't be able to stop myself if we go any further."

Slowly, she leveled her head with his and moved until her lips were touching his. "Don't stop." She whispered before giving him a hungry kiss.

That was all the permission he needed. In one quick motion he pulled his lips from hers and rolled them over on the bed until she was on her back and he was straddling her waist. Giving her a seductive smile of his own he moved down so that his face was level with her opening.

Feeling her face heat up to match her body, Temari slowly opened her legs to give him access. She couldn't take the suspense as she slowly made his way to her opening, before stopping an inch from it.

He inhaled slowly, the intoxicating scent of her drove away all other thoughts in his mind as moved his tongue out to greet her waiting flesh.

"Shika!" She cried out as his tongue made it's way around and explored her womanhood.

His insanely hot breath on her silky curls made her want to release right then, but she forced herself to hold it in. Her trail of thoughts were instantly lost and she whimpered when she felt his soft, hot, ever probing tongue enter her innermost lips.

Feeling like she was going to faint at the heat that instantly flooded her entire being, Temari fell back onto the bed fully, her hands desperately clawing the pillows around her head, needing something to anchor herself to while unconsciously, instinctively, her legs moved further apart, wordlessly inviting him into the most intimate recesses of her being.

She felt limp and light headed as he slowly kissed his way back up to her lips. His manhood, hard and hot, nudged against her skin. She moved her hand down between them and wrapped her fingers around his heated length. He let out a groan as she slowly, tentatively moved her hand up and down his length. Not being able to hold it back any longer, he pulled away from her and settled himself between her thighs.

"Tem?" He asked huskily for one final permission, his tip right up to her opening.

"Yes," She whispered back, needing to feel him inside of her. "Always, yes."

When he first entered her, the strange, momentary pain was immediately overwhelmed by the unimaginable, intoxicating feel of his length inside her and the pair groaned in unison. Feeling every single insanely hot, tight inch of her around him, her individual muscles clenching and shuddering around him, the Nara felt all rational thoughts flee his powerful mind. But soon his primal instincts kicked in as he gripped her hips to brace her, pushing in deeper than at first. Her eyes firmly shut, mouth opening in short, brief gasps, Temari felt an indescribable, intense pleasure coursing through her entire being.

Temari's legs opened wider to accommodate his slim, toned hips and he drew out of her, just to immediately thrust back deep inside of her, before slowly repeating the process until his initial, rather clumsy thrusts turned smoother, until he finally found a confident, rather firm rhythm, until they practically became one being.

Heartbeat and breathing picking up, his eyes held onto the now wide opened eyes of his girlfriend, now dilated with pure ecstasy and pleasure as harder and harder, faster and faster he thrusted into her, caught in a frenzy he did not expect, the momentum of their combined pleasure propelling him ahead, unstoppable.

His hands seemed to cover her entire body at once, touching her, exploring her, caressing her, urging her, his body revelling in the feeling of her body beneath his, the soft skin of her legs wrapped around his hips, her soft breasts pushing into his hard chest at each dive into her, her hard nipples taunting his skin.

She was completely lost in him, her fingers digging into his shoulders, she lightly cried his name over and over, moving her legs higher and higher around his hips as his once steady rhythm increased, his breathing getting harsher but his pace not failing as he kept going with an intense fervor.

As he pleasured her, she couldn't stop herself from kissing him, tasting him, fusing her lips with his skin, using her teeth to graze the skin of his neck, shoulders, and mouth. The sound of his pleasured moans connected to something deep inside of her, deep within her heart.

Soon after, the pair were teetering on the thin line of the edge, the throbbing pressure inside Temari needing to be released and she had to stop herself from crying in desperation, as his pace increased his movements, turning rushed, wild.

"Tem!" He yelled as he drove powerfully into her for the last time, completely filling her, pressing into the very precise spot that sent her into a uncontrollable fit of delicious quivering, her muscles spasming violently around his manhood, her legs flailing helplessly on the bed, in turn causing him to stiffen for a moment then sending him over the edge as well. The pair cried at the top of their lungs, their voices filling their room completely.

He felt himself slowly slacken above her as they continued to gasp for air. Not wanting to crush his girlfriend under him, he rolled off of her, accidentally rolling her to the side as well since he still had a firm grip around her body. She tucked her face into his neck as she tried to catch her breath. Both continuing to shake, their bodies unable to calm down from the sensations.

"Are you… okay?" He asked, his body forcing himself to speak at the moment, despite the exhaustion. He used his now free hand to weakly reach up to her face, brushing her blonde hair back from her deep red face, giving her a soft smile when their eyes met.

For a minute she couldn't reply, she was too tired to think, her mind was too far gone to think clearly. After calming her breathing she managed to return the smile.

"I've…" She mustered out slowly. "Got to… remember to get you… drunk more often." She finally forced out, tilting her head up to give him a shaky chaste kiss on his cheek. Feeling his arms wrap around her, she nuzzled her nose into his neck and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep, totally and completely exhausted.

Shikamaru gazed in awe at her sleeping face, her lips were red and slightly puffed from his uncountable number of kisses, her cheeks still a flushed red, and her beautiful hair in a wild mess around her face, shoulders and back. He smiled at the breathtaking woman before him, still in awe of her stunning beauty.

Moving himself slightly, he managed to pull some of the sheets that hadn't been shoved off the bed over them. He could feel his entire body covered in sweat and her juices and he would've loved to be able to take a quick shower before falling asleep but he didn't dare leave the heavenly embrace of her, her body called to him even in her sleep, he never wanted to leave her. He only managed to stay awake for another minute before he too, fell asleep.

* * *

 **(With Shou Hiroto sometime that night)**

In a dim hallway a figure stood in front of a large, ornate wooden door. Stood beside the door were two guards, large and imposing, however they made no move to question his being there.

"Knock knock knock." A brief pause. "Knock knock knock." Three quicker knocks were followed by a hushed voice.

"Oji-san. Oji-san!" Shou was trying to hide his nervousness. He was told not to disrupt his uncle tonight, and here he was, knocking on his door in the middle of the night.

"Oji-san! Oji-" Shou was cut off when the large door was suddenly swung open, revealing his uncle, Mano Morinosuke, wearing a hastily tied robe over his body and an annoyed scowl on his face.

"Shou." Mono's deep baritone voice rumbled through the dimly lit hall. "I believe that I told you that I didn't want any interruptions tonight."

Shou involuntarily gulped, sweat was starting to form on his forehead. Taking an unknown half step back he cleared his throat.

"I-I know, O-Oji-san. I'm sorry." He stuttered out quickly.

"Then why are you standing here before me, boy?" He asked, clearly annoyed and wanting to get back to 'bed'.

"We-." Shou started but when he saw a glimpse of a figure on the bed behind his uncle he stopped himself before taking a step closer to the old man, whispering in his ear. "I-It's business, Oji-san."

Partially raising an eyebrow Mano glanced behind him then back to Shou, voicing a small grunt. "You were smart enough not to say anything in front of her, hmph. Why don't you show that side of you more often?" Shou deflated a little at the snide remark, his shoulders lowering a little as his eyes drifted away from his uncle.

Mano paused to turn back to the woman in his bed and said something to her in a language that Shou didn't recognize. A few seconds later the woman, underwear in hand, made her way out of the room as she slipped a robe on, giving Mano a soft smile as she exited the door. When the woman was out of earshot Mano gestured Shou inside the room, closing the door and latching several locks behind them.

"I hope for your sake that this matter is of a high priority." Morinosuke mumbled as he flipped on the light and grabbed an open bottle of sake, choosing to drink it from the bottle directly instead of pouring himself a glass.

"Rest assured, Oji-san, it is." Shou said as he took a seat, following Mano's gesture to the open chair.

"Then get on with it, boy" Morinosuke growled, he was still visibly annoyed.

Shou cleared his throat before answering. "Yuuto Ishihara, one of our guests contacted me in person earlier today. He told me that he represents someone who might be interested in a 'business arrangement' with us"

Mano's brow raised slightly before he took another swig of sake. A slight nod told Shou to continue.

"Ishihara said that he is a Wakagashira of the Yakuza, under direct command of Mr. Shinoda himself." At this Mano's eyes widened and he lowered the bottle. Shou gave a small smirk and continued. "I spoke with him earlier as I said, it is my impression that he is very willing to come to an agreement once he meets with you. He and I also shared several drinks, a sign of respect." He said smugly.

"Don't get too excited, Shou." Morinosuke warned with a low growl. "You still have much to learn about this business. Did he prove his words and show you proof that he is who he says he is?"

"Yes, he showed me his Yakuza Crest Coin, he's legit." Shou answered, trying to hold back his emotions, if this went well then his uncle may finally respect him, he couldn't mess this up.

"Hmm." Morinosuke rubbed his chin, thinking. 'Yuuto Ishihara, huh? Obviously an alias. No self respecting Yakuza would offer his real name so freely. That is if he still knows his real name anymore, those damn brainwashing fools.' He thought as he absentmindedly placed his left fist in his right palm, tapping his right forefinger on the back of his left hand.

'Logic would say that he's legitimate, no Kami-fearing man would go around claiming to be _his_ right hand man.' Swirling the sake in the bottle he let out a sigh. 'But if he _doesn't_ work for Mr. Shinoda then who could he be and what could he be after? Is he after power in my organization perhaps? Or does he simply wish for a seat at my table? Does he work for Yagami, that piece of shit, I wouldn't put it past him to try to get someone in my inner circle. But why would my business rival risk sending someone to speak to me directly with no body guards?' His eyes widened slightly, he turned his head back to his nephew, he was obviously sweating and quite nervous but trying to play it off. Pathetic.

"Shou." His low, almost a growl of a voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Did this 'Yuuto Ishihara' have anyone with him?"

"Uh y-yes, Oji-san, his g-girlfriend." Shou replied quickly, silently damning his nervous stutter. His uncle always noticed.

"Speak clearly, _boy_. A man does not stutter." Morinosuke almost spat. Sitting back into his chair he continued. "A girlfriend huh? How odd, traditionally a woman wouldn't be brought on a task like this."

"Well maybe he only brought her to help his cover, Oji-san." Shou said a little quickly, nodding his head as he did, as if he was trying to say that he was right. "This is a couples resort after all, it would look odd for him to be here alone."

Mano raised one eyebrow at his nephew's words, a slight smile formed on his lips. This boy might have promise yet, if only he used his head to think more often. "That is true, Shou. Good thinking."

Shou visibly reacted to his uncle's words. His shoulders rose ever so slightly and he fought to hold back a satisfied smile. "Thank you."

"Did he have anyone else with him?" Mano asked. "Besides the woman?"

Shou thought for a second before answering. "Yes, he did. He had two other couples around his age with him at the table."

"And are they members of the Yakuza as well?" Morinosuke questioned.

"I don't know." Shou admitted. "Yuuto didn't say but he had no problems about talking to me about meeting in front of them."

"Hmm. Interesting. An odd one, this 'Yuuto Ishihara'." Mano mumbled to himself. He looked towards Shou. "Do you know the people who were with him?"

Shou seemed to visibly think back to earlier that day, his eyes looking off into the distance. "Well his girlfriend's name is Hana Fukushima, that I know for sure." He involuntarily shivered at her name, he was lucky that someone of Yuuto's status and power didn't just kill him on the spot when they first 'met'. Now he sweats bullets whenever he makes eye contact with her.

"I only heard the others name's in conversation, but I believe that the older looking of the two were named Riku and Yui, they are married but I did not hear their last name. Unfortunately I didn't hear the names of the other two."

"Hmph. Well no matter, I will find out who they are eventually." Mano said as he rose from his chair, Shou instinctively stood as well, waiting for further instruction.

"When you next see him, tell this 'Yuuto Ishihara' that I accept his request for a meeting. Bring him to my office, but have him leave his woman at their villa, you know my policy concerning women and negotiations." Morinosuke said, his tone obvious that he was aware that Shou knew but he said it anyway.

"Yes, I'm aware." Shou said as they made their way to the door. "'They have no business being together. Women are not suited for a man's work.'" Shou replied, quoting his uncle's words.

Mano gave a humored smile. "Seems you might actually be capable of learning something after all." Opening the door he practically shoved Shou outside. "You are dismissed, boy. Make sure that you contact this 'Wakagashira' soon." He leaned into his face.

"Do _not_ fail me again, boy." Pulling back, Morinosuke gave a nod to his guards and closed the door. Shou heard him setting the various locks and the light being turned off. Letting out a long sigh of relief to finally be out of there, he turned and walked back to his villa.

"That damn old man." He spat. "Just you wait, you'll get yours one day. I'll make sure of it."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please, let me know what you thought with a Review. Please also Favorite and Follow, it really makes my dad and helps my profile grow.**

 **Until next time, this has been Hephaestus.**


	22. Ch22 The Talk

Chapter 22: The Talk

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey everyone, hope you all had a good week, it's finally the weekend, and that means that the next A Mission of Love chapter is here. Rejoice!**

 **Anyway, I found this chapter really hard to write, the second part with Ino and Sai even more so. From the chapter title you can guess that this chapter has a lot of talking, it's a slower, calmer chapter without much action. But even though it's a lot of talking I think that it is really good regardless. I hope that you like it.**

 **I don't have much to say about this chapter so I'll wrap it up here. The next chapter will be releasing on the 25th. The chapter may be shorter that week so be warned, with Thanksgiving that week I will have a different work schedule, not including family stuff, so I'll be busy. I'm still planning to put it out then though, I'm trying to keep my schedule as best I can. I want to get this story wrapped up so that I can start working more on my next one. Still no confirmed date when that story will be released but I'm planning around the beginning of the year regardless of if this story is over or not. If it still is then I will put the first chapter out to see how the response it to it and go from there.**

 **Enough of my Author's Notes, it's time for the next chapter of A Mission of Love, hope you enjoy.**

 **Hephaestus**

* * *

Chapter 22: The Talk

 **(With Naruto and Sakura)**

Sitting down on their couch, Sakura looked at her blond boyfriend as he sat down next to her. They had returned from the bar not twenty minutes before, after changing into some more comfortable clothes and steeling her nerves, Sakura was ready to talk to Naruto about the possibility that had been eating away at her mind all day. They also had not talked about their night before, as Sakura had avoided the blond in order to wrap her head around what happened.

She did not regret what happened, Kami no, she would never regret her feelings and actions with Naruto. Everything was just happening so fast and she had no previous personal knowledge on how to deal with what was going on. At first, the pinkette considered not saying anything to Naruto until they got back to the village after the mission and she could confirm with Lady Tsunade if she was pregnant or not.

Lady Tsunade, oh Kami, Sakura did _not_ want to have to face her mentor when she got back to the village. Sakura knew that she wouldn't be upset, far from it, she knew that Lady Tsunade would be happy for her, it was just that she feared that her mentor wouldn't approve of how fast their relationship was going. Tsunade was always like a second mother for the pinkette, sometimes she was even closer to her than her own normally infuriating mother. Sakura didn't know how her mentor, let alone her parents and friends would react to the news.

But her biggest fear right now was how _he_ would react. Everything was riding on this moment, nothing else mattered right now. How would he take the news? Would he be happy? Would he react badly and not want to take the responsibility that a child would entail? Would he be willing to marry her in the future and help raise their child? Their actions aside, would having a child now be a good idea, they hadn't even talked about their relationship going forward for more than a few minutes before going to bed. Would they even have the ability to raise a child? While Sakura had a bit of experience with children from working at the hospital, she doubted that Naruto knew the first thing about taking care of a baby.

Did he even want a child right now? He was so close to becoming Hokage, he took new leadership positions every day. Would he think that a child would just get in the way of his dream to become Hokage? The pinkette didn't know what to think. On one hand she knew that she was overreacting a bit, but on the other hand this was a big thing, a really big thing for their relationship. If they were going to stay together for a long time, which she wished for more than anything, would he want to have a child with her before they were even married? Having children, let alone sex, out of marriage was frowned upon and looked down upon in most of the world, it was even more so in their traditionalist village, where the people who dared stray from the norm were ostracized by the community. She knew that Naruto had already experienced that for most of his life, and she was not ready to make him go through that again. Not if she could help it. Should she just _not_ tell him? She could wait until she knew if she was pregnant and go from there, regardless though, she knew that she had to tell Naruto about the possibility that she was pregnant. He deserved to know.

Letting out a small breath, the pinkette looked to her blond boyfriend, who was patiently waiting for her to start. He was obviously a little anxious himself, she figured that he felt a little worried that he had overstepped some boundary last night, even though she had reassured him a few times that he hadn't. She couldn't fault him though, it showed how much he cared for her.

"Naru-kun." She started with her new name for him, showing that she wasn't upset with him. "...I, I don't know… how to start." She said lamely. She had much on her mind, she just didn't know how to say it out loud.

"Are you mad at me, Sakura-chan?" He asked softly, skipping his usual loud and over the top nature. His voice was low and smooth.

"No no no, of course not." She gripped his hand softly, reassuring. "I already said that I wasn't, so don't worry. I'm not mad, I'm just… distracted is all. I wasn't trying to avoid you all day, well I kinda was, but not because I was mad at you. It's just…" She trailed off, not knowing how to say it. What would he think?

"Sakura-chan?" He asked kindly. Learning in closer and looking into her emerald eyes with his cerulean ones. "Whatever it is, just tell me. It's obviously bothering you, so tell me, so that I can help."

Smiling a little at his words, Sakura let out one last breath. She was ready now. She would tell him. "Naru-kun, it's a possibility that, I mean, that I might, I- uh, I think that I might be pregnant."

There, she said it. It was out in the open now. She had done the hardest part, now it was all up to how he would react. Looking at the blond however, she couldn't read his face. He had a blank, almost non-existent look on his face. As if she hadn't said anything. She tilted her head slightly as she looked at him, unsure what he was doing. She was about to open her mouth to speak when the realization hit him, his eyes widened slowly as his jaw dropped.

"... P-p-p-pregnant!" He asked, his eyes bulging from his head as he forcefully stuttered out his reply. "B-but that's not possible! I mean we used protection and everything! Didn't we? Wait, yeah we did! You… we… oh Kami..." His head was in his hands as it shook back and forth.

"Wait, Naru-kun." She said softly, trying to forcefully stop the blond from shaking back and forth. "I said that I _might_ be pregnant. I haven't checked yet, so it's still a might."

"...Okay. But how? We used a condom, so how…?" He asked, looking up to her.

Sakura's face went a little pink at the thoughts of the night before. She closed her eyes and forced out her answer. "Well uh, because it might have… broke." Hearing only silence for a few seconds she hesitantly opened one eye to look at Naruto. When she did, she saw the same blank face as before, after a few more seconds however, and after she opened her other eye, his eyes widened once more.

"I swear that I didn't do it!" He all but screamed at the top of his lungs, his arms flailing around violently. "You have to believe me, Sakura-chan! I didn't break it on purpose!"

She tilted her head slightly and gave him a confused look. "Huh? What are you talking about?" She sat still for a few seconds, thinking. Until it hit her. "Wait, did you think that I thought that _you_ broke it on _purpose_?" She asked her blond boyfriend, who was still looking very worried and anxious.

A slight nod of his head told her 'yes'. She facepalmed, hard. "Really? Were you really worried that I thought you broke it on purpose?" She let out a groan as she watched his worried face disappear. "I wasn't even- I didn't even think that you would."

"Hehehe…" He let out a forced chuckle. "I guess that makes sense."

"You think?" She asked sarcastically. "Seriously, Naru-kun, I trust you more than that."

"...So uh, _why_ do you think it broke?" He asked hesitantly.

"...Because I might've, uh, _saw_ that it broke."

His eyes widened even more. "You saw that it was broken? Why didn't you saw anything? We could've used another one. It wasn't worth the r-."

"I saw it _after_ , okay?" She cut him off quickly. Looking down slightly, away from his piercing blue eyes. "I saw it when I woke up… that's why I left before you woke up. I was… nervous, sorry." He words turned softer after every word she spoke, until her voice was barely over a whisper. "I didn't know how to tell you. I thought that you… might be… upset..."

She was shook from her soft spoken words when she was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace. She let out a surprised yelp before she realized what was happening. Naruto had pulled her into his arms, his arms tight and comforting, his chin laying a top of her head. She wanted to say something but she couldn't. She could feel his heart beating and hear his breath, his silent actions were already beginning to calm her. How had she lived these past eighteen years and not realized how wonderful his embrace was?

"Upset? Why would I be upset?" He spoke ever so softly, even being so close she could barely hear him.

"I… thought that you might not want to have a baby." She replied softly, honestly. Her worst fears, she was letting out her worst fears to him. "And that you might… leave… me."

"Sakura-chan, do you really think that?" He asked, pulling back and looking into her eyes. "Yeah I'm surprised but upset? I would never be upset, Sakura-chan. All of my life… I've wanted a family, someone to be there when I get home. Someone to worry for me when I'm home late. Someone there to say 'goodnight' to before bed and 'good morning' to when I wake up. I've never had anyone to go home to."

He lightly took hold of her chin and caressed her smooth skin. "Do you really think that after all of this time, after all of these years of chasing you that I'd just walk away from you?"

Her eyes widened as she watched his soft smile. "I _never_ go back on my word, you know that." Bringing her in slowly, he pressed his lips softly on hers, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. "I would _never_ leave you."

oooOooo

 **(A few minutes Later)**

"So when would we be able to know for sure?" Naruto asked.

"When we get back to the village, most likely." Sakura said. "I didn't think to bring any tests with me on this mission, I mean, why would I? So unless there are some here on the island then we'll just have to wait until we get back home."

"You can't just, I don't know, use some medical ninjutsu and check for the baby yourself?" Naruto asked, and from the 'are you serious' look he received he got his answer.

"Do you even know how medical ninjutsu works?" She asked rhetorically. "The baby wouldn't even be a full day developed yet. There is nothing to even detect with medical ninjutsu yet. It's not even the size of a speck yet."

"But I thought that granny used her medical ninjutsu to detect and check the development of babies." Naruto replied, scratching his head. "I mean she used that for Kurenai-sensei, right?"

"Well she did, but that was when Kurenai-sensei was a few months along, and we knew that she was pregnant. Right now the baby, if it's even there, is far too small for anyone to detect with medical ninjutsu or chakra."

"Oh."

"And I don't think even you in your Sage Mode could detect something so small." Sakura watched him shrug.

"I guess so. I've never tried to see if someone was pregnant in Sage Mode so I don't know, but I'm guessing that you're right. There wouldn't really even be anything for me to see." Letting out a yawn and stretching he started to make his way to stand. "It's already really late, do you want to go to bed and continue this conversation in the morning?"

Giving him my hand to help me up I felt my face go crimson. Bed. Last night, we- in the bed, together… oh Kami… was he suggesting that we do it again? I don't know if my heart could take going two nights in a row.

"N-Naruto! Wha-what are you saying?!" Sakura forced out quickly, her voice going very high.

Naruto turned back to her and wore a confused expression. "What am I saying?" He asked, completely confused. "I'm just asking if you want to go to bed since it's late. Why…? Is that… a problem? Do you not want to share the bed?"

His look was utter confusion, he didn't get what the problem was. Sakura on the other hand, wasn't understanding him either, she was under the impression that he had asked her to have sex with him again. She loved him, yes, but she didn't exactly expect to have sex every night. She was still sore and out of it from the night before. Was that what he was asking? It was, wasn't it?

"Of c-course I want to share the bed!" She almost squeaked. "I just wasn't expecting for you to ask so abruptly."

He gave her another confused look. "Huh? Abruptly?" He squinted his eyes before scratching the back of his head and letting out a sigh. "I am so confused."

It took a few minutes of explaining, but the two finally realised the miscommunication between them. And after that Sakura happily joined her blond roommate when he went to bed.

F

oooOooo

 **(With Ino and Sai after the evening at the bar)**

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Ino practically screamed as soon as their door had closed. They had just returned from the bar and she had been waiting for hours to confront him in private about his actions with Mr. Morinosuke.

"Pardon?" Sai asked, turning to see the upset blonde in front of him. He clearly was taken back and confused by her sudden outburst.

"Your behavior earlier with Mr. Morinosuke! What were you thinking, confronting him like that and fighting his men? You could've blown our cover right then and there! Normal rich people don't do that! They also don't perform aerial takedowns on their opponents." She let out a calming breath and absent mindedly combed her hand through her platinum blonde hair. "You're lucky that he isn't your normal guy. He seemed to be happy and impressed that you stood up to him. Any other man in the world would be suspicious, we're _undercover_ , Sai, I figured that I shouldn't have to remind _you_ of all people of that fact."

Ino finished her rant by letting out a few more calming breaths. She didn't know why this was riling her up so much. Perhaps it was because Sai was the last person on Kami's green earth that she expected to act like that. Sai never lost his cool, in all of the time that she has known the pale ninja she had never seen him act like that.

The Yamanaka heiress watched him silently. For a whole minute neither of them saying a word. Her not demanding for him to speak and him not trying to justify his actions. She tried to read his face, but as usual, it was like trying to read a face that was etched out of stone. Running over how she sounded in her head she realised that she went too far in yelling at him. She wasn't in any position to get on him for his actions. She herself hadn't always acted in a professional way on this mission, that was obvious. She had no right to lecture him like this. That was Shikamaru's job as captain of the mission.

"I'm sorry, Sai." She said softly. "I shouldn't have lost my cool like that. It's just… the alcohol in me. Sorry."

"It's fine." He said monotone. Her eyes shot up to him, she hadn't expected him to say anything.

"I'm really sorry, honestly." She stepped a half step closer, her hand gripping the top of her dress. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry."

"I know." He said as he looked up into her eyes. She felt her own dart from his as her cheeks heated up slightly. She cursed herself for noticing that fact. "I… apologise too."

Her eyes widened slightly. "What for?"

He turned his head slightly to the side, looking at the wall. "For… letting my emotions get the better of me. I should not have reacted to Mr. Morinosuke's words like that. I could have jeopardized the entire mission, I am aware of that now."

He moved to sit on the couch a few feet away, still averting his eyes from her. "If you want to tell Shikamaru then do it. He is the captain of this mission, so disciplinary decisions are up to him. If you tell him then he will have to tell Kakashi-sensei, who will decide my punishment. I could have failed our mission, so I should be reprimanded for it."

"I want to hear your reasonings for it first." Her soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up to her, watching as she moved to sit next to him on the couch. "I made the decision not to tell him until after I talk to you about it."

"Why?" He was surprised and curious.

"Because… it's so... unlike you. You've never done something like that before. I would expect that kind of behavior from Naruto, not you of all people." She looked back to him, her eyes silently asking for him to start explaining himself.

"...I…" Sai didn't know what to say. His head had been spinning all day, and it wasn't just from the alcohol. He had been… anxious and distracted since the start of the mission when he made the mistake of voicing his feelings for her. He had spent many hours in thought since then, thinking and evaluating his feelings in order to determine if they were genuine or not. He was trying to convince himself that his feelings were confused, and that he either confused his lust for her physical appearance for love or mistook his closening friendship with her for love. Either way, he had spent every free moment of the mission in deep thought, trying to come to any conclusion, more hoping coming to the conclusion that he was just mistaken, it would be easier that way.

"Sai? Sai, are you okay?" The pale ninja snapped out of his thoughts, shaking his head side to side subtly. He turned to her, seeing that she had leaned in closer to him in order to try to get his attention.

"W-what?" He asked, still a little in a daze as he was coming out of his thoughts.

"You don't have to say it if you don't want to, I won't force you to." Ino mistook his hesitation for a refusal to explain himself. She huffed softly, she seemed a little upset and disappointed in him choosing not to say anything. "I'm going to bed, see you in the morning." She rose from the couch a little too quickly, causing her get a little dizzy. Damn alcohol, she thought.

"Wait I-." Sai stood to stop her, lightly grabbing her arm. "It's not that I-, it's just…"

"Just what?" She asked.

"I… can't… the words just don't…" Sai released her arm, placing his hands on his head, his eyes closed. He was struggling to both not say anything and to give her an answer at the same time, the two wishes conflicting. He could feel all of the muscles in his body start to dense. His felt his heart rate increase, it sounded louder and louder in his head with every beat.

"...Sai? Are you okay?" She asked, a little concerned, by the way he was acting it was like he was in pain just by thinking. It was worrying her.

"I'm sorry." He said suddenly, moving to walk past her, much to her confusion.

"What?"

"I can't tell you, sorry." He made it a few feet before he felt her pull on his arm, physically stopping him from leaving.

"What is going on? Why can't you tell me?" She demanded. "We were talking, you can't just walk away from me like that!"

"I shouldn't have said anything, I apologise." He tried to pull his arm out of her grip but she wouldn't budge. He knew that if he really wanted to pull away from her that he could, he was physically stronger than her after all. But he didn't want to do something so rude to her, he also didn't want to risk hurting her.

"What is going on with you, Sai?" She asked a little softer, her initial hostility turned down a little. "One minute you want to talk to me and then the next you refuse to say anything, are you okay?"

Was he okay? Was he _okay?_ Of course he wasn't okay! He hadn't been okay since he had his momentary weakness and told her how he felt about her. Since then he hadn't had a second of peace in his mind, every free moment was spent trying to decipher these alien emotions that he held for the blonde beauty before him. Not in all of his life had he ever met a person that confused his heart and mind so much. One second he was furious at her and the next he wanted to brush her hair behind her ear and hold her close to him, comforting her. He had no prior experience with these emotions to tell him what to do, what to think and how to react. He didn't even want to admit that these feelings were true, because if they were then he would have to act on them, and if he was to have to act on them then he would have to face Ino. And if he were to face Ino with them then he would have to live with her not returning his affection for the rest of his life.

"Sai?" She called out his name a little loudly, even though he was just a few short feet away from her. "Tell me, what is going on, I'm getting a little concerned over here."

At his silence the blonde felt her anger starting to rise again. He was infuriating! She was becoming concerned because of his strange behavior and he wouldn't even say anything to her. Unbeknownst to her the pale ninja was shaking with both nerves and frustration.

"Say something!" She yelled at him. "Say something, Kami damn it!"

"I care for you!" His voice rose far higher than hers, taking her back. "But I don't want to! It's driving me crazy!" He screamed, his fingers digging into his head, sweat on his forehead and his vision shaky from the sheer amount of chemicals flowing through his body at the moment.

"You stand there lecturing me and dismissing everything I say! Claiming to know what I feel! But completely refusing to even entertain the idea that what I say might be true! _You_ are driving me crazy!" He screamed at her, veins straining in his face and his voice cracking from the volume. "Everytime I look at you I become conflicted. I want to get away from you and be close to you at the same time. I can't keep my eyes off you but at the same time every single time I look at you it hurts me! I try to be nice, I try to be kind, I try to be there for you but every time I do you say that I'm confused. That I'm misconstruing my feelings towards you!"

"Kami damn it!" He yelled towards the ceiling. Throwing his arms forcefully down to his sides. His arms tense and his fingers shaking, hooked like claws. "I don't even know what I'm saying anymore! I want to love you but I can't, because if I do then you won't love me! You want to feel love but as soon as I offer it to you you push me away! I have never felt this way before, I don't know what to think anymore!"

He stumbled back a few steps, returning his head back into his hands. Visibly shaking, panting from yelling so loudly. He continued, this time his voice softer, calmer, his rage from before apparently worn out. "I… I don't know what to think anymore. I want to love you… but if I do then you will refuse it and I will be like you… heartbroken and suffering."

An unknown amount of time went by, silence filling the room. Sai had thought that she would've said something by now, but she hadn't. He must've gone too far. No, he _knew_ that he went too far. What was he thinking, letting his emotions cloud his actions like that? Now she wouldn't want to have anything to do with him. He would have to live the rest of his life without her, knowing that he was a contributor to her emotional pain and confusion.

"...I… I am sorry, Ino." Sai forced out, his voice hoarse and rough. "...I-I'm so sorry." He didn't dare look at her, he didn't have the strength. He couldn't wait for her response, his heart wouldn't be able to take it. He couldn't take the silence anymore, the tension in the room, being in such close proximity to her. He had to get away, clear his head, do… something to make him not feel this way anymore. He gave one last apology before he turned and quickly walked out of the door, heading back to the resort.

oooOooo

She heard the door close, heard his steps on the wooden walkway.

He left.

Sai left.

She didn't know what to do.

Ino's knees gave out, causing her to fall to her knees on the floor. Tears were flowing from her eyes before she even knew what was happening. So many emotions were flowing through her at once.

She didn't know what to do, she didn't know what to say, to think. Had she, had she actually treated him that way…? Was she really that… heartless?

She kneeled on the floor, her elbows on her knees as she held her sobbing head in her hands. She tried to keep the tears back, to wipe them away but it was a hopeless endeavor.

"...I'm," {Sniff}. "Sorry, Sai." She whispered softly in between her attempts to try to compose herself. "...I didn't know…" {Sniff}. "What I was doing to you."

She didn't know what to think about his confession. She already knew that he cared for her but she had forced herself to believe that he was just confused, that he was wrong. She, she didn't know what she thought of him. She knew that she didn't love him, but she did feel something for him in the deepest, darkest corners of her mind. She did find him attractive in his own unique way but that didn't equal love. She didn't know what to do.

Is this… is this how he's felt since their first conversation? Has he been this… split and confused this whole time? She felt like passing out, how has he been able to stand this much emotional confliction that long?

"Sai… I-I'm so sorry…"

She didn't know how she managed it but at sometime she was able to make her way up to their room. Dropping herself unceremoniously on their bed she tucked her limbs close to her body and wrapped herself warmly in the blankets. Not for a single second did the tears stop flowing. Not for a moment did her heart stop hurting. Not once did she forgive herself for how she had treated him on this mission.

At some unknown hour she somehow fell asleep, tears staining her cheeks she slept, clutching his pillow closely to her chest, wishing that somehow, even if she knew that it was impossible, that something of his would substitue for him as she fell asleep. She wanted nothing else in that moment then to go to him and apologize. To be able to just be by him and tell him that she was sorry.

oooOooo

 **(With Sai)**

Sai sat back at the same bar that he and the others had been at not so long ago. He sat in the far corner in the dark, the light barely reaching him. He ignored the remaining few stragglers in the bar as they talked and drank. Set in front of him on the table was a large amount of empty glasses. He could drink more, he _wanted_ to drink more, hoping for them to help mend the pain in his chest. But he knew that they wouldn't, they _couldn't_ help him.

Sighing, he pushed the current glass away, turning his gaze from it. His mind was trembling, what was he supposed to do? Should he have stayed and talked to her? Should he have left sooner? Later? He didn't know what to do.

"Damn it." He muttered under his breath.

"Hey buddy, it's closing time." He heard an unexpected voice, causing him to startle out of his thoughts. He looked up to find the barkeep standing next to his table, holding a tray full of empty glasses.

"We're not open twentyfour seven. It's four in the morning, go back to your villa." He then started to clear Sai's empty glasses, placing them on his tray.

"...It's four?" Sai asked a little groggily.

"Yup, time for you to get some sleep. And for me to get out of here." He said the latter part under his breath. The barkeep looked from the empty glasses back to Sai, seeing the tear stains on his face. It was obvious that he was crying, that and his eyes almost looked swollen.

"...Lady trouble?" The barkeep asked hesitantly. He didn't really like getting into the business of the customers. It always ended in some drunk man crying on his shoulder as he spilled his guts to him. But this kid was so young, so… innocent looking compared to the rest of his customers. He felt that he had to say something.

Sai looked up to the man, a confused look on his shaky face. "How did you know?"

The barkeep let out a 'hmph'. "When you've been doing this as long as I have you pick up a thing or two." He pointed to the empty glasses and then to Sai's face. "That's a 'lady trouble' amount of alcohol if I've ever it. And that's definitely a 'lady trouble' look on your face."

"You're right." Sai admitted.

"Of course I am, I just said so." Said the barkeep as he shifted the tray into his other hand. "So…"

"So?" Sai asked, questioningly.

"So are you gonna talk about it or not? Because I have work to do. If you aren't then you gotta leave."

"I don't want to leave." He said softly.

"Why not?" Asked the barkeep. "You should have several bottles of sake in your villa, just go there and drink your problems away."

"I have nowhere to go." Sai replied solemnly.

"Ah, had a fight with the ol' ball and chain, eh?" He rubbed his chin with his free hand. "That's why I never married, women are too much of a full time job. I prefer nine to five, if you know what I mean." He let out a few chuckles but when he noticed Sai's face he stopped. So no jokes then? He thought.

"We aren't married."

"Wife, girlfriend, same difference. You just gotta go back there, apologize, kiss and make up." Said the old barkeep. "Oh and give her some flowers, women love flowers. Makes them forget that they're upset at you."

"I can't apologize though." Sai said, his eyes returning to the half filled glass before him.

"Why not?" The barkeep asked.

"Because I meant what I said, and I can't take back what I said."

The barkeep rose a brow in confusion. "What could you have- oh. I get it. You said those three little words, didn't you?"

"Yeah…" Sai admitted.

The old barkeep let out a sigh, he turned his head to see that the rest of the customers had already left. The only other person was one of the servers who was busy wiping down tables on the other side of the bar. Being the boss had it's perks, he guessed, no one could tell him to get back to work and not talk to this kid. This kid, he was so… young. The poor guy, he was obviously going through so much at the moment that the old barkeep felt bad for him. He let out a sigh, he knew what he was about to do, and it went against everything that he had done in the last thirty years at this job. He decided to help this boy.

Sliding into the empty seat across from Sai, the barkeep placed the tray down between them. Rubbing his receding hairline he grabbed Sai's still half filled glass and put it out of his reach.

Sai gave him a look and the old man returned it with a stern one. "You won't find the solution to your problems in a bottle, son, believe me." He gave Sai a softer smile. He didn't really know why he was doing this, it went against what he believed in. Maybe it was how innocent and crushed the boy looked, maybe it was that he seemed like a honest boy, or maybe it was that the boy reminded him of himself at his age. Probably a combination of all three, if he had to admit.

"So, you told her those three little words, and she didn't take it well." He said in more of a statement rather than a question.

"Yes."

"What did she say?" The old man asked.

"Nothing."

"Well what did you say?"

"Nothing, I left before she could say anything."

"Idiot." The barkeep said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That's completely the opposite of what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to hear her out and talk about it."

"...I know." Said said. "I just couldn't… stand the tension in the room."

"Tension? So you and your lady had an argument beforehand?" Sai nodded. "Then you said those three little words and caught her off guard." Again the barkeep said it as more of a statement than a question, he knew. Whoever this man was, Sai had to admit that he seemed to know what he was talking about.

"Listen kid, I've been in your shoes. My first love, Mia and I had an argument just like the one you two had from the sound of it, kind of, our argument was about something else. Though our circumstances were obviously very different. I stormed off just like you did." The barkeep seemed to hesitate a little. He didn't know why he was telling this story, he hadn't told this story in years. "We- we never saw each other again."

Sai looked up to the old man, his eyes widening. "She left before I got back." He admitted. "She took all of her belongings too, the only thing she left was this." The man reached into his neck collar and pulled out a silver chain that he unhooked from around his neck. He held it out to Sai, showing it to him wordlessly. Sai looked back up to the man to see the old necklace, his eyes followed it down to find an old and worn ring at the bottom.

"A ring?" Sai asked softly, surprised and taken back a little.

"Her engagement ring, yup." Confirmed the old man. "I found it on the dining table when I got home the next morning." Sniffling a little he continued. "There was no note, no way for me to be able to contact her again, nothing. Just her ring sat next to our dinner from the night before."

The old man tried to play off the fact that he was wiping a tear from his eye but Sai caught it, he didn't show it though, he had no right to judge the man who was helping him. "We… we were getting married in a... month." The barkeep continued, his voice hollow and sad. He was trying his best to hold back his tears. "That was thirty years ago."

"And you still carry that around with you?" Sai questioned.

"Everyday." He answered.

"Why?"

"To remind myself." He said simply.

"To remind yourself what?" Sai asked.

"That we ruin our own lives. That we cause our own problems. Early on I tried blaming the world for what happened. I blamed my parents, I blamed the alcohol, I blamed her. But it wasn't for a few years that I finally admitted it and took the blame for what happened."

"I've been doing this job for almost thirty years now, taking this job a month after Mia left. And in that time I've seen boys like you sit there and try to drink their problems away. But the only thing they manage to do is drink their lives away." The old barkeep let out a breath. He didn't know why he was spilling his guts to this kid, he hadn't told anyone this story since he told his family and friends that the marriage was cancelled all those years ago. He didn't know what it was, he wasn't a god believing man, but something in him told to help this boy. Maybe it was his conscience, it was about time that it showed up after all these years. He thought.

"What I mean to say kid, is that you won't solve your problems by sitting here drinking and feeling sorry for yourself. The only way to fix this is to go to her, whoever she is, and tell her how you feel. Don't worry about rejection, it's a part of life, there is nothing you can do about it. So don't let it eat you up from the inside." The two sat in silence for a while. It was a comfortable silence though, each man thinking over the words that were spoken. It was just the two of them now and it felt that they were the only two in their little corner of the world.

"Thank you." Sai said softly, ending the silence in the room. "For everything."

"Don't fret it, kid. Us old guys are only still around to help guide you young'uns." He gave Sai a friendly smile. "Now go to your woman already, I'm sure that she's better company than ugly old me. Go, go." He gave a shooing motion.

Sai stood and bowed to the old man in thanks. "Thank you, you have no idea how much your willingness to help me means to me."

"No problem, kid, just remember what I said. It's never too late to fix your problems with the ones you love. Go to her, tell her, you'll see." Returning the gesture he lowered his head to Sai as well. "Go on, kid, it's already morning, she'll be up soon."

Sai thanked the old man one more time before turning and walking away. He only made it a few steps before he stopped and turned back to the old barkeep. "You are right, it is never too late. You should go see Mia, if you two really loved each other than maybe it's not too late." Sai gave a smile before turning around again and headed out of the bar.

Unbeknownst to the young ninja the old man's face went pale and solemn. His hands shook as he picked up the glasses and returned them to the counter, threatening to drop the glass as he tried his best to balance them. Retreating to his room above the bar, the old man threw off his shoes and uniform, leaving him in his shorts and undershirt. He wordlessly moved through his dark room to the fireplace, stopping before it and looking up to the mantle. Standing alone on the mantle stood a single, plain looking urn.

"Never too late, huh?" His words were soft, barely audible. "Wish I believed that when you were still here."

He hesitantly reached up to the urn and placed a hand on it gently. "I wish you the best of luck kid, don't end up like me."

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please leave a Review and Follow/Favorite me and this story. It really makes my day.**

 **Until next time, this has been Hephaestus.**


	23. Ch23: It's Ninja Time!

Chapter 23: It's Ninja Time!

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey everyone! Yes I know that this story is several days early, with Thanksgiving coming up I will have less time to work on writing this week so I put in some extra time and effort to get it out as I have some other smaller projects to work on along with irl stuff.**

 **!Important Announcements Below!**

 **Now, I know that you're all excited for the next chapter but I have some important announcements for you all. So please take a second and read my author's note.**

 **First, I want you all to know that I have updated my profile. I have released on there my list of future story ideas for the near and somewhat distant future. Please, check out my profile to see what stories I plan to write. I am planning on jumping into some new anime and shows in the future.**

 **Second, I am going to be working on finishing the first chapter or two of my next Naruto story: 'My Hero' and getting the first chapter out around the beginning of the year. So in preparation for that I have decided to speed up the completion of this story. DON'T WORRY, I am not going to just finish it off here and wrap up in a few chapters. I just merely plan on putting in more time and effort into writing so that I can wrap this story up. I did only plan for this story to last at max ten chapters in the beginning after all. (We're now at 23, so more than double, yeah, I went overboard.)**

 **Third, this ties into my second announcement, I am wanting to have a custom cover art for 'My Hero' done. I have always wanted custom cover art but I lack both the time and skill to do so. So, if anyone out there has both the skill and desire to create a custom cover art for my next story or any of my future stories then please, PM me and we can talk about it. I want to say now that I can't pay anyone for it, so this would just have to be out of the goodness of your heart, (or maybe priority of a future story that you want). I do already have cover art picked out for the story that I just found on the internet but I think that it would just mean a lot more and be a lot cooler to have one of you create cover art for me. If you have any questions or interest please, PM me asap.**

 **Now, that was longer than I intended but sometimes I just have to tell you guys what's going on. So without further ado, here is the next chapter of 'A Mission of Love'!**

* * *

Chapter 23: It's Ninja Time!

 **(With Ino And Sai)**

Ino woke suddenly, sitting up quickly. She looked around the empty room in search of what woke her up. After not finding anything she laid back down and tried to fall back to sleep. She was dead tired. She couldn't have had more than a few hours of sleep. Her entire body was sore, her head hurt worse than ever and her eyes felt puffy from all of the crying that she did before she fell asleep. Rolling over she confirmed her fears, Sai wasn't next to her as she wished he would be when she woke up. Hearing a noise she sat back up, straight as a pole. It had come from downstairs.

Ino threw the sheets off the bed and quickly ran downstairs to find Sai sitting on the couch, his head low and eyes closed. When he heard her not so subtle descent down the stairs he turned to see her leaning against the doorframe.

"I-Ino!" He was surprised. It wasn't even five in the morning yet. He didn't expect her to be awake. He was kind of hoping for her to be asleep, it would've given him more time to figure out what to say.

"I'm sorry!" He said very suddenly, standing very quickly. He bowed his head low to her in apology. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I apologize. I-" He was cut off suddenly when he felt Ino wrap her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I was so worried, you idiot." Sai was shocked, this was not the reception he was expecting. She was shaking, he assumed from crying, her expected it to be from anger.

"I-I didn't know- I didn't think you'd come back." She cried into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Sai."

"W-why?" He was surprised. Why was she sorry?

"I said all of those terrible things to you without thinking anything about it. I'm so sorry." She let go and pulled back from him. Sitting down on the couch next to where he was just sitting. He took the hint and sat back down.

"Now Sai," She started, taking a breath and trying to clear her head. "I thought about what you said, and after giving it a lot of thought I have come to a decision."

Sai's eyes widened a little, he didn't expect for her to immediately jump into this conversation. She continued. "I'm sorry but I…" She turned her gaze away from him. "...I can't love you. At least not yet." She finished quickly when she saw his shoulders drop.

"...I-I'm not in a place right now where I think it's healthy for me to be in a relationship. After running after someone for so long… my heart just can't handle the idea right now. I'm sorry."

She turned back to him when he started to speak. "Ino, I-" She cut him off however by putting her hand up to stop him. She wasn't done yet.

"But I _am_ willing to admit that your feelings are real. I-I can't promise anything but… but I am willing to accept the idea of one day, _one day_ , mind you, being with you in a romantic sense to see how it goes." She let out a breath. "But for now I can't be with you in a romantic sense, but if you want to continue my friend then we can. I want to get to know you as you before I come to any decision. Is-is that okay?"

Sai was awestruck. Everything that he had been thinking, all of the words that he planned to say, they were gone. He could only stare at her after she finished. He had wholeheartedly expected for her to never want anything to do with him ever again.

She began to worry when he hadn't said anything after the long silence. He was only staring at her, right at her. It made her a little uncomfortable if she were honest. Not that he was looking at her, she was used to men looking at her, it was that he was looking at her a certain way. Like she was… special. She shook the thought away, she didn't want to dwell on it any more.

"O-oh! I-I-I I'm sorry." He stuttered out when he realised that he was staring, shaking his head side to side. "I- yes, that's okay! I-it's more than okay. I-"

"Thank goodness." She let out a relieved breath as she held her hand to her heart. "I thought that you'd never want to see me again."

"So did I." He admitted. A silence was heard between the two for an unknown amount of time. The pair just sat next to each other, trying to figure out what to say.

"Sai, I… I have a question." She said hesitantly.

"Ask away."

"Did… was the reason why you flipped out with Mr. Morinosuke because he said something bad about me?" She had been wondering it since yesterday but hadn't had the opportunity to ask.

He looked a little hesitant to answer, she gave him a look. "Sai…"

"Yes. I-, I was just trying to protect your honor. I am sorry. " He finally admitted. She felt her heart rate pick up a little, but she forced it to calm down. He was that concerned for her that he got into a fight with three men because they had said something bad about her? How was she supposed to react? Wait, she thought, her honor? How was, how would that...? Her honor? She had lost that a long time ago as far as she was concerned. She shook her head and ignored his strange explanation. She continued.

"Well what did he say?" She asked.

"He uh…" He looked very uncomfortable, well for Sai at least. "I do not wish to say it aloud."

She gave him another look. "I've been called everything under the sun, Sai. So don't worry, just tell me. I _want_ to know."

"He uh, called you a…" He leaned closer to Ino and whispered into her ear. A second later Ino pulled back slowly before shaking her head and letting out a disappointed sigh.

"I-, I don't know what to say." She said, shaking her head. "Sai, I've been called worse, much worse. Sakura has called me worse before. I wouldn't have even cared if I had heard him."

"Oh." He deflated a little.

An idea popped into her head but she stopped herself before it got too far, she didn't know if it would be appropriate to do or not, considering their strange relationship. She liked that he seemed to care for her a lot. I mean why wouldn't she? She wanted to give a hug to thank him for protecting her 'honor' as he had said earlier. She just didn't know if that would be overstepping the boundaries that she had set up between them. Would he interpret it a different way? Would he think that she liked him? How would he react if she showed her appreciation for his actions that way? Should she even be this concerned over something so little? She had never had this problem before. She hugged everyone regardless of relationship. From Shikamaru to Choji to Lee and to even Shino that one time for taking care of a wasp nest outside her flower shop, so she shouldn't worry about it. Right? Letting out a breath and steeling her nerves, she leaned over the small distance and gave him a light hug.

"Thank you, Sai. For caring enough to act." She knew that she had caught him off guard, he froze, his breathing stopped and his arms were pressed hard against his side, refusing to hug her back. She had to hold back a chuckle, he was so cute sometimes. "You can hug me back, dork."

oooOooo

 **(With Naruto and Sakura, later that evening)**

 **Note: (** " _Used for spoken dialogue via telepathy jutsu"_ **)**

" _Ino, are we all connected? Can you hear me?"_ Shikamaru asked, more so thought to himself, hoping to connect to everyone via Ino's telepathy jutsu.

" _Affirmative."_ She replied from her and Sai's main room.

" _Sound off everyone."_ He ordered inside their heads.

" _Here."_ Temair said from her place in her and Shikamaru's shared kitchen.

" _I can hear you."_ Sai confirmed.

" _All good here."_ Naruto said from the couch, sitting next to Sakura.

" _Same here, Shikamaru."_ Sakura said.

" _Everyone is connected fine and I can't sense anyone with any notable amount of chakra around."_ Ino said.

" _Good. Are we all ready to proceed?"_ Shikamaru asked.

A collective 'yes' was heard all at once.

" _Naruto? Are you ready?"_ The Nara heir asked.

" _Yes."_

" _Then proceed."_

"Yaaawn!" Naruto gave an overly exaggerated yawn as he rose from the couch, making a big show of stretching and seeming tired. "Well, I think it's time for bed, don't you, Sakura-chan?" He asked aloud. Offering his hand to help her up. She gladly took it.

The pair made their way up the stairs quickly but casually. Making sure to appear natural for their cameras. They made it to their bedroom after a few seconds and walked inside, seemingly getting ready for bed. Sakura gathered a few things for a shower, using the large towel to hide her shoes from view. She told Naruto that she would be out in a few and to get ready for bed. After she closed the door he gathered his boots under a change of clothes and after a minute of setting up the bed he walked over to their bathroom and stepped inside, quickly shutting the door behind him.

"You ready?" He asked as soon as he closed the door.

She nodded as she folded the clothes that she had been wearing neatly and placing them on the counter. She was now in a more functional outfit for the task at hand. "You were supposed to wait a few more seconds." She chastised him lightly, not really upset, just making conversation. "You almost walked in on me changing."

He gave her a somewhat seductive smile. "Well it's not like it would be the first time I've seen you naked." He replied with banter as he removed his top and bottoms. She eyed him as he slipped on a pair of black pants and a matching black top. He saw her watching him so he gave another smirk.

She blushed as she finished tying her shoes. "You're lucky that they can't hear our spoken words." She stood up and returned the look. "I don't want anyone to know yet, I'd rather keep it to ourselves for now."

"Sounds good to me." He said, lacing his own boots up, sitting on the counter. He stood when finished and offered her his hand. "You ready?" He asked.

She looked hesitant for a second but shook it off. She took his hand silently. She had never done this before but he reassured her that she would be fine. She believed him so she didn't think that there was anything to worry about. She trusted him with her life.

He pulled her to him lightly, holding her firmly. "It is always nauseating the first time, but don't worry, I got you." He reassured her. She smiled and felt her cheeks warm up slightly.

She nodded and he freed his hand for a split second, placing his hands in his signature hand sign. "Shadow clone jutsu." He said and two copies of him appeared from a poof of smoke next to them. His two clones nodded in unison before putting up a different hand sign, after another poof of smoke the two clones were transformed. One into what he was wearing before he had changed and the other had transformed into his pink haired girlfriend, wearing what she had been wearing before changing as well.

The real Naruto nodded to the clones and they wordlessly headed out of the bathroom together, quickly shutting the door after them. Naruto looked to Sakura again, she nodded and he slipped his arm back around her and held her left hand in his right. He let out a breath before channeling his chakra, the next second the bathroom was empty. Leaving no trace of the two young adults who had just disappeared.

oooOooo

Sakura felt sick. It seemed as if her entire body was pumped full of a mixture of sedatives and alcohol, she was ready to pass out any second. She reached out to a tree to keep her balance as she tried to not empty her entire stomach on the grass. Stupid Naruto, she thought, he never said that it was going to feel this bad! The blond in question gave her an apologetic look as he mouthed 'sorry' to her. He had tried to warn her.

They had just used his dad's Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport from their villa and into the mass of trees behind the bar. Next to a small, almost invisible chakra formula etched into a tree trunk. Naruto had grown accustomed to the sensation quickly over time, but this had been Sakura's first time teleporting so she was feeling the initial drawback. He knew that it would fade in a few minutes and he wished that he could stay with her but he still had a job to do. He had to pick everyone up. He mouthed 'I'll be back soon' to her before he gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. He took a step back and held out his right hand, palm facing down.

" _Shikamaru, are you in place?"_ He asked via Ino's jutsu. Their minds had been silent before, not that they were worried about someone detecting her jutsu, but because they were all a little anxious and nervous to get started.

" _Yes."_ He confirmed. " _I am in the bathroom just as we decided. Temari, get ready, you are next."_

" _Already ready, Shika."_ Temari said from their bedroom.

" _Stick out your hand holding the formula paper palm up in your hand."_ Naruto instructed. " _And make sure that there is room for me in front of you."_

" _Ready."_ Shikamaru said.

Without warning Naruto appeared in front of him, his right hand face down on the paper in Shikamaru's hand. Naruto removed his hand before putting his arm on his shoulders, trying to get as firm a hold on him as he could without much contact, it was a little awkward with another guy, but it helped with the initial nausea for him to have as firm a hold on the person as possible. Naruto made another clone and had it transform into a perfect copy of Shikamaru.

"Prepare yourself." Naruto warned. "I don't want you throwing up your lunch on me. I don't want the guards to smell me." He joked and a second later the two were gone, leaving a fake Shikamaru to walk out of the bathroom to let Temari take his place as he got into bed. Naruto and Shikamaru appeared next to Sakura, the Nara had to grab a nearby tree for support. Naruto gave him a sympathetic smile before teleporting again, this time to pick up Temari. Naruto then repeated this process with each ninja. Teleporting to them, leaving a clone transformed as them before teleporting back to the others with whoever he was picking up. After a few minutes, and after a certain ninja, namely Ino, lost her lunch from the initial sickening sensation, they were all assembled and ready to sneak around the resort under the cover of darkness and hopefully come out of this infiltration with some much needed intel.

oooOooo

 **(With everyone later that night in various locations)**

Sai shifted from his place in a tall palm tree. He was about twenty feet or so over the ground, below him was a man who was lazily standing guard. He wore the same yukata as the other guards, but this one had a sword strapped to his belt opposed to a hidden knife. He hadn't moved from his spot in over two hours and he hadn't spotted Sai either. Sai found him being here strange, yes he was standing guard, as dozens of other men dotted around the resort where, it was just that this man was guarding a free standing single stall wooden bathroom at the edge of the resort. A seemingly 'under maintenance' bathroom if you were to believe the sign posted outside it.

Sai had spotted the man hours before and reported it to Shikamaru via Ino's jutsu. He had ordered him to stay put and watch for any activity until just before sunrise. So here Sai sat, or more so leaned against a tree, using his chakra to keep him steady. It was incredibly boring, if he were to be honest. If only he had been able to bring some chakra infused ink and his scroll on this mission, he would be able to summon some small ink animals and have them check out the seemingly empty bathroom without the guard noticing.

Dawn was just a few short hours away and nothing had happened yet. As far as he knew none of the others had been successful in finding anything incriminating that they could use against Morinosuke. As it stood they had no right to arrest him, they couldn't prove anything.

Sai let out a silent breath out of his nose, he was still anxious and a little irritable, normally he would be able to stand a boring mission like this but right now he just wanted to move.

" _Shikamaru, can I just knock out the man and sneak inside to look around myself? We are running out of time."_ He asked the group via Ino's jutsu.

Sai could feel Shikamaru thinking it over inside his head. It felt strange. " _Go ahead, but not by yourself. Take whoever is closest to you."_ He ordered. " _Who is nearest Sai?"_

" _I am."_ Naruto said. " _I can sense him nearby with my Sage Mode. Sai, I'll be there in a minute."_

A half a minute later Naruto appeared next to Sai above him in the tree. They nodded silently to each other and moved. Sai used his chakra to scale down the tree and behind the small wooden bathroom. He calmed his breath before sneaking behind the guard before grabbing him and sending chakra into a pressure point on his neck, knocking the guard out instantly. The guard slumped the ground, Sai dragged him to the side of the bathroom and propped him up against it so that if anyone found him it would look like he fell asleep sitting at his post. Naruto dropped from the tree silently next to Sai and checked around with Sage Mode, no one was around. Nodding, Sai checked the door. It was locked, as expected. After a quick search of the guard's pockets the pair found the key. Unlocking the door and putting the key back in the guard's pocket they stepped silently into the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom it was cramped, with barely enough room for one person, let alone two. The pair looked around for a secret lever, button, trapdoor, anything. They were sure that there was something in this bathroom, they just had to find it. After checking the light switch, faucet, under the sink and the light fixtures, the pair hadn't found anything. Naruto looked around, there was only one thing that they hadn't checked yet, but it was stupid and if it were the secret entrance then this was a little disappointing. He took a step and made it to the other side of the bathroom, stood before the toilet. He gave Sai a look saying 'should I try it?'. For his answer Sai shrugged. Why not? Naruto reached down and placed his hand down on the lever beside the toilet, he pushed it down expecting for the toilet to flush. Instead a series of clicks and latches were heard before a trapdoor beside the toilet appeared on the floor. Naruto had to hold back an amused chuckle. This was not how he expected his ninja career to go, climbing into a trapdoor that led under a toilet, where was the glory in that?

Sai had a disbelieving look on his face as he followed Naruto through the trapdoor, climbing down a ladder. It was pitch dark in the tunnel, neither of the two dared to make any light in fear of being caught. But the darkness didn't bother them, they were ninja after all. Sai had trained his entire life for this and Naruto was Naruto, he was able to use Sage Mode to get around in the eerie darkness without any problem it seemed.

The two ninja made their way through the tunnel silently, listening to the conversation in their heads. Temari had spotted Morinosuke at a bar with several women. Shikamaru told her to hold her position and watch him. They had to make sure that they knew where he was at all times. They couldn't risk turning a corner and bumping into him down here in the tunnels or in the resort.

Naruto turned a corner and saw light off down the tunnel. He froze and Sai stopped as well. They nodded to each other and they made their way silently to the end of the tunnel. Poking his head out, Naruto could see that they were in some sort of office or storage area, a combination of the two is what it looked like actually. It looked like a stereotypical office with a large wooden desk, large and comfortable looking chair, rows and rows of file cabinets and even a mini fridge. It felt so out of place down here in the middle of a maze of underground tunnels.

After checking that the coast was clear, the two ninja entered the somewhat comfortably sized office and began looking around. After reporting their find to Shikamaru, and being told to gather as much incriminating intel as possible, the two ninja began to do that. Sai checked the desk as Naruto started on the filing cabinets that ran across the entire length of the wall. After opening the first one and seeing all of the documents he figured that there had to be thousands of papers, folders and binders in this office if they were all as full as this one.

Naruto was just about to open the first folder when he sensed someone coming. They were close by in the labyrinth of tunnels and would be there in no time. He shoved the file back in the cabinet and closed it quickly.

" _We have company, Sai! Someone is coming, hide!"_ Naruto yelled wordlessly in their heads. Sai dropped to the floor and hid under the desk just as the sound of echoing footsteps could be heard coming from the tunnel.

" _What is going on?"_ Shikamaru demanded. " _Where are you two?"_

" _We are still in that office in the tunnels. I can sense someone coming."_

" _Who is it? Morinosuke?"_ The Nara asked.

" _Negative, Shika."_ Temari jumped in. " _I still have eyes on Morinosuke. He hasn't left the bar."_

" _I don't know who it is."_ Naruto answered. " _But whoever it is isn't a ninja, their chakra is really low, even for a civilian."_

" _Stay where you are, don't let him see you."_ Shikamaru ordered. " _Avoid confrontation at all costs but be ready to take him out if need be."_

" _Gotch ya."_

" _Understood."_ Sai said.

The two ninja were frozen in place as they heard the footsteps get closer. Whoever it was wasn't trying to be quite at all. It had to be one of Morinosuke's men patrolling the tunnels, Naruto thought.

Hidden in the far corner of the room behind a shelf, Naruto could see the feet of whoever had just came in. It was a man by the style of shoe, not surprising, Morinosuke didn't seem to be the kind of man who would work with women. Naruto focussed on the the chakra of the man, using his Sage Mode to sense both his energy and whereabouts. Whoever this man was to was obvious that he wasn't a guard, his chakra and physical ability were both far too low for him to he of any use in more than a bar fight. Whoever this man was he seemed... familiar to Naruto, like he had sensed this man before but had never put his chakra signature to a face. Was it one of the guests that he had met? Was it a random member of the staff? He couldn't tell.

"Damn old man, ordering me around like one of his servants. Who does he think he is?" The sudden audible voice startled both Naruto and Sai, causing the two to tense up. Naruto felt his eyes widen and his mouth drop, he recognised the voice!

" _Guys,"_ Naruto started in their minds. " _I know who's in here, it's-"_

"Ishihara-san?" The sudden voice snapped Naruto out of his mental conversation. He looked up to see none other than Shou standing above him. Looking down to Naruto hiding in the corner, obviously confused as to why he was there.

" _Crap."_ Naruto thought.

" _What happened?"_ Shikamaru demanded.

" _Naruto has been spotted by Shou."_ Sai informed the others.

"Ishihara-san?" Shou asked again, his head tilted to the side in confusion. "Sir, I-I'm afraid that you c-can't be down here. This floor is off limits." He stuttered out. Even when he was surprised to see him, Shou was still scared and nervous of Naruto, his connection to the Yakuza frightened him.

"Oh, uh… I am sorry." Naruto stood quickly, wiping off the non existent dust off of his clothes. "I was just looking for-."

"You were sneaking around, weren't you, Ishihara-san?" Shou asked suddenly, the look on his face saying that he knew the answer.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, he forced himself to not react to Shou's words any more, he was a Wakagashira of Mr. Shinoda, he did not freak out. Naruto was just about to open his mouth to speak when Shou started to talk.

"I knew it." Naruto's heart rate increased slightly. "I knew that you weren't here to make a business deal with my uncle. You are here to take over the crime ring from him."

"Wait-" Naruto started but was interrupted by a strangely upbeat Shou.

"I want to help!"

"W-what?" Naruto forced out, his jaw dropped slightly.

"I said that I want to help, Ishihara-san." Shou said. "I will give you whatever information you need and help you in anyway you ask."

Naruto stepped towards Shou, causing him to take a small step back. He needed to keep up appearances and keeping Shou scared was the best way it seemed. "Why would you be so willing to help me? Why would you go against your uncle like this?"

Shou's face hardened slightly. "I hate that man. He means nothing to me. If the Yakuza wishes to take this empire from him then be my guest. My uncle deserves everything coming to him." He said darkly.

"What did your uncle do to you to make you hate him?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

Shou turned his gaze away slightly, looking at a shelf on the other side of the room. "Did you know that my family has run this organization for generations?" He asked but didn't give Naruto any time to answer. "My family has owned this island for generations as well, using it as their base of operations. My grandfather had two sons, and when he was nearing the end of his life he handed down this small empire to his eldest son, my father."

"As the eldest son my father was set to inherit all of this." He gestured around him in emphasis. "But my uncle wanted the power for himself, so the night after my grandfather had passed and given his title to my father, my good for nothing uncle snuck into his chambers as he and my mother slept. He _killed_ them in their sleep." Shou's jaw was clenched, his voice dark and angry.

"I was only a boy when it happened but I remember finding my parents dead the next morning. Not a day goes by that I don't forget my hatred for that man. He killed my parents in order to gain power since as the second son he would have nothing."

"But why didn't he kill you?" Naruto asked, confused. If Morinosuke wanted power and no one to be able to take it from him then shouldn't he have killed Shou as well?

Shou scoffed. "Therein lies the irony of his plan. You see, my uncle can't have children, so he was no way of producing an heir to the empire he has worked so hard to build up over the past few years. So with no other option my uncle decided to pick me to take over the organization once he dies. But I have no desire to take anything from the man who killed my parents. My uncle despises me, thinks me too weak and childish to inherit anything. He mocks me every chance I get. Making a fool of me if front of the guests and publicly 'disciplining' me in front of them as well when I make a mistake. My uncle is a monster, as you will soon find out."

His eyes narrowed as he leaned closer to Naruto. "So in exchange for my help, I want you to kill my uncle."

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Thanks for reading, I know that it was short but I'm strapped for time this week and this chapter had to serve as a set up of sorts for the future. I hope that you enjoyed it nonetheless. Please, leave a Review and Follow/Favorite both me and this story.**

 **Don't forget to check out my profile to check out the stories I am planning for the future and feel free to PM me about any of them.**

 **Also if any of you would be interested in making a custom cover art for my next story please, PM me asap.**

 **Thanks for reading, as of this chapter I will no longer be sticking to my every other week upload schedule, I will be putting out the chapters as soon as they are done, giving you guys more chapters in total.**

 **Until next time this has been Hephaestus.**


	24. Ch24: Meeting with Morinosuke

Chapter 24: Meeting with Morinosuke

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey everyone! So sorry about the late update but I have no control over my work schedule. I did rush this chapter out in two days so sorry about the length. This chapter did need to act as a sort of set up/in between sort of chapter. So sorry if it isn't up to par with my usual ones. Don't worry, my next chapter should go back to normal.**

 **QUICK NOTE ABOUT NEXT CHAPTER:**

 **This chapter is the last chapter of A Mission this year. Don't worry, the story isn't over I'm just going to spend the rest of the year working on other projects including the first chapter of my next story and some of the one-shots that I want to get out before the end of the year.**

 **My FMA 'A Christmas Wish'**

 **As some of you know I put out my first FMA fic a few weeks ago. Please check it out and tell me what you think of it. Let me know if you would like me to write for FMA fics in the future.**

 **Sorry again about the wait but now it's time for what you've all been waiting for, the next chapter of A Mission of Love.**

 **Hephaestus**

* * *

Chapter 24: Meeting with Morinosuke

 _His eyes narrowed as he leaned closer to Naruto. "So in exchange for my help, I want you to kill my uncle."_

Naruto momentarily froze at Shou's words. He was glad that Sai was on top of things and telling the others what was going on via Ino's jutsu because he was too busy trying to keep a straight face.

" _Agree to his conditions."_ Shikamaru told Naruto quickly in his head. " _Sai, you get out of there if you can. We can't risk Shou seeing you."_

Naruto felt Sai nod in his head, it felt weird.

Naruto caught himself zoning out and quickly readjusted himself. "Oh, is that all?" He asked Shou in a relaxed, almost uncaring manner. "I was worried that you were going to ask something of significance. It is our policy to remove anyone in our way. So, regardless of your request, we were going to kill him anyway."

A dark smile crept on Shou's face. "Good. I don't care how you do it, as long as it's as painful as possible."

Naruto held his hand out to Shou. Shou took it quickly and shook it. "It's a deal then. Pleasure doing business with you."

"Likewise." He nodded.

oooOooo

"Here is the file you asked for, Ishihara-san." Shou said as he handed Naruto a thick file of papers. "This is the first record that belongs to my uncle."

"Thank you." Naruto took the file and turned it over in his hands before looking it over. It was obviously very old, covered in a thick veil of dust and tattered. He opened it cautiously. Upon skimming through the contents he turned back to Shou who was looking through another file.

"What is _this_ supposed to be?" He asked, holding the papers out in front of Shou, revealing the list to be written in nothing but a series of numbers. "Is this your idea of a joke?" He asked with a slightly lower tine to his voice. He had learned that it was best to keep Shou on his toes, and keeping him scared was the best way to go about that.

Shou nearly dropped the file he was holding when Naruto spoke. He looked up to him, his eyes wide with fear. "N-no, no sir." He stuttered out. "U-unfortunately my uncle w-writes all of his files in c-code so that p-people can't read them."

Naruto raised a brow. "He is _that_ paranoid that people will try to read them?" He asked, almost in disbelief. Was Morinosuke really that paranoid?

Shou nodded his head quickly. "Y-yes, he only keeps one k-key in his office." He deflated slightly. "But it's guarded by at least a dozen g-guards and the n-newest security systems. Unfortunately, he never lets anyone into his personal office, your meeting will be in his meeting room. So you won't get the chance to even _see_ his office."

"Hhmm." Naruto brought his hand to his chin as he thought. They were hoping to be able to just steal some incriminating information and arrest Morinosuke. It seems like at every step that something comes along to mess them up. Now they needed to somehow sneak into his office unseen when it's guarded by both security and cameras? How were they supposed to get the key?

"Who else has access to your uncle's office?" Questioned Naruto after a few seconds of silence.

Shou looked to the side momentarily, thinking. "Well besides himself and a select few of his security…" He paused for a few seconds to think. "...I'm the only other person that I can think of, but I'm not allowed in his office by myself." He said the last part quickly.

"Why not?" Naruto asked.

Shou scoffed under his breath. "He thinks I'm too incompetent to be trusted with all so-called 'sensitive' information. But I know that he just doesn't trust me. He's made himself clear how he thinks of me…" His jaw tightened slightly before he continued, his voice louder, sounding like he was ranting, letting a huge weight off of his chest.

"He thinks himself perfect, like he can't make a mistake. Like we are all _blessed_ by the gods to just be in his presence. He thinks himself above all those around him, but he's nothing but a _demon_ who will exploit you until there is nothing left to take. And if you don't fall in line he either buys you off or breaks you until you fold..." He trailed off, turning to face another bookshelf, his eyes downcast and his jaw clenched in a tight line. It was subtle but Naruto could see that he was shaking as he rubbed his arm softly, absentmindedly. Was it rage? Pain? Guilt? All of the above?

Naruto didn't know what to say, he was supposed to be acting like someone who didn't care one bit about him but he wanted to say _something_ to him. Even if he didn't like him he still felt for him. His parents were killed by his only other family member and now he's being forced to work under that person? No wonder he has his problems.

Demon, why did that word always swirl inside his head? Making him either open up or shut himself off?

"Don't let him get to you." Naruto said under his breath, unaware that he even said it until Shou spoke up.

"What?"

Crap.

He wasn't supposed to say anything.

He cleared his throat before making himself look busy reading through the files, as if he wasn't really interested in the conversation. "Morinosuke is nothing more than a coward hiding in a man's skin. He is no demon like you make him out to be. He holds no real power over you..., _you_ are the one who gives him his power over yourself. If you simply refuse to let him have that power then he is nothing more than that; a man."

Silence filled the room for what felt like a few minutes as the two young men stood silently and still in the small room before Shou spoke up again, looking to the blond. "...Not to pry, Ishihara-san, but…" He trailed off as if he was trying to find the words. "...But you sound like you speak from experience…"

Naruto let out a sigh as he put down the file that he had looked over a dozen times but hadn't gotten any information from. He went to answer but he barely recognized the voice that he heard. It sounded nothing like his usual one. It was too timid, too held back, too...weak.

"...Let's just say that I've met my fair share of demons in my lifetime." His voice was soft, unlike anything he had used with Shou so far. It seemed to surprise both young men as they both seemed put off by it. Naruto felt uncomfortable by Shou's look of… pity? Was it pity? Understanding? He didn't know, but he turned his head away from his gaze anyway.

"And even then… a demon is only as powerful as you let him be."

" _ **You speaking from experience, kit?"**_ Kurama asked silently inside his head. Giving him a slight smile as he wore a regretful look on his face. Naruto nodded his head slightly to answer the fox before clearing his throat.

"But still… demons aren't always what they seem on the outside. While I agree that some men are just plain evil…" Images of enemies entered his mind, dozens of them all in a group, but one of them rose above the others. A man who once wished to save the world by destroying it. Pain. He shook his head in attempt to clear his thoughts.

"Some are just misguided." He turned to look at Shou. "He's your uncle, your only family left. Don't be so willing to watch him die. You have no idea what it'll do to you once it's over."

Shou was quite for all of three seconds before he let out a disapproving grunt. "No, my uncle is no man, he's a _demon_. You haven't seen what he's done to me and the others." He gripped his arm again, absentmindedly rubbing it slowly.

Naruto watched him for a few seconds before it clicked in his head. "Did… did he do something to your arm?" He asked.

Shou seemed to startle when Naruto mentioned his arm. He began rubbing it a little faster as it shook. Naruto didn't think that he was going to say anything but after a few seconds he let out a sigh.

"He broke it when I was little, twice." He was silent for another minute as he stared off as if he was remembering something. "It doesn't hurt anymore, but sometimes… it feels like it does..."

"I'm sorry." Naruto whispered low.

Shou's eyes widened at his words, he looked like he was going to say something but looked like he changed his mind. "...You don't have to apologize." He said softly as he continued to rub his arm. "You didn't do anything."

"I-." Naruto was just about to speak when he heard Shikamaru in his head.

" _Wrap it up, Naruto, it is dawn and we need to get some sleep before our meeting with Morinosuke."_

Naruto cleared his throat, getting Shou's attention. "Thank you for your help, Shou. Unfortunately I have to be getting back to my girlfriend. She's going to be waking up soon." He said with his usual business tone. "And remember what I said about your uncle, he has no power over you. Don't think of yourself as useless just because he calls you that. You are your own man."

Shou's jaw was a tight line for a few seconds before relaxing. He stepped towards Naruto and held out his hand. "I will. It...it feels good to have gotten this off of my chest. Thank you."

Naruto took his hand and shook it. "You're welcome. I will let you know if I need your help going further."

Shou stepped back, seemingly to walk away before he turned back quickly. "But how will you get the key from his office?" He asked.

"I'll think of something. I have my ways." Naruto answered with a slight grin that he couldn't help but do.

"I bet you do." Shou nodded. "I have to be getting back to mine as well. I'll see you."

oooOooo

 **(With Naruto and Shikamaru a few hours later)**

"You ready to do this, Naruto?" The Nara asked his blond friend.

"Yup." He replied, stifling a yawn his his hand. Shikamaru gave him a disapproving look.

"Get your head in the game, I know you're tired but we're _all_ tired." Shikamaru gave his friend an understanding look, however, he knew that Naruto used a fair amount of energy using his clones to pose as them and acting as a taxi for them all night with his Flying Thunder God technique.

Naruto cleared his throat and stood a little taller. "Sorry. I'm ready." He was now speaking in his more businesslike tone, it helped him differentiate who he was supposed to be acting like.

"Do you remember your cover?" He asked the black-haired man.

Shikamaru gave him a fake insulted look. "Of course I do, I'm me. You can't really forget anything when you have a photographic memory, you know."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh yeah, sorry."

"No problem." He said as he looked up at the clock on the wall. They were waiting in a hallway outside of the meeting room where they were supposed to 'negotiate' with Morinosuke. But he was late. The meeting was supposed to start twenty minutes ago and they haven't heard anything but 'Mr. Morinosuke is a very busy man, please be patient' from his overly attractive secretary sat behind the desk at the other side of the hall.

"Why is he making us wait?" Naruto asked.

"To show us that he can." Shikamaru said simply. "He's using it as a way to show his power. It shows us that his time, and in association he, is more important than us."

Naruto nodded at his friend's words. It made sense. One thing made him wonder however, who did Morinosuke think he was, making someone who reported directly to Mr. Shinoda, wait?

"Is Ino ready?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru only gave a light shrug.

"Find out." He ordered kindly.

Naruto gave him an almost pained look. "Do I have to?"

Shikamaru returned it with an 'get over it' expression. "I know it's been… weird, between you two lately but you need to be able to talk to each other normally."

Naruto let out a sigh, he was right. He needed to stop worrying about the awkwardness between them. Naruto closed his eyes momentarily and directed his thoughts to where he hoped she was.

" _...You there, Ino?"_ He asked hesitantly. He could fee her presence in his mind a few seconds before she spoke.

" _Yeah, I'm here... You two are connected."_ She said.

" _Thanks, Ino."_ Shikamaru said in their heads. " _It'll be much easier to keep our story straight if we can use your jutsu to talk to each other."_

" _No problem, make it fast though, it's hard to keep up the jutsu from this distance without an amplifier."_ She reminded them. " _It's hard enough using this jutsu without letting the cameras know."_

" _We'll try to be quick, Ino."_ Shikamaru assured her.

Not a second later did the door behind the desk open. Two men in formal clothes walked out and wordlessly gestured for them to follow them.

"Mr. Morinosuke will see you now." The bubbly, nauseatingly over energetic secretary said with an over practiced smile on her face.

"Thank you." Shikamaru said to her with a slight nod of his head. Said young woman seemed to blush as she covered her face with her hands. Naruto sent a raised eyebrow to Shikamaru that he only sighed at.

"I'm not interested." He said to Naruto under his breath.

oooOooo

"Ah, the infamous Wakagashira of the Yakuza that Ive heard so much about. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Morinosuke greeted them as they entered. Shikamaru noticed that the guards locked the door behind them and stood at either side of it. Interesting.

"Oh," He said when he noticed Shikamaru. "I was unaware that you were bringing a _friend_." He said 'friend' like he was talking about a child bringing their friend over.

Naruto stepped forward and straightened his stance. "This is Riko Hamamoto, Kaikei(accountant). He is here to handle the numbers," He paused to fix his jacket even though it was perfect. It was essential to keep up appearances. "I am here as a means of introduction and negotiations. After you two talk your numbers I will step in to make the deal." He made the effort to seem like he was just here to do his job, and not to make small talk.

Shikamaru stepped forwards and bowed his head to Morinosuke. "It is an honor to meet you, Morinosuke-san. Thank you for agreeing to meet us on such short notice. You will be happy to hear that-."

Morinosuke raised his hand and Shikamaru stopped instantly. "Before the pleasantries I would like to verify that you are who you say you are." He said with a slight grin on his face. "Prove to me that you are truly sent here by Shinoda and we will talk, if not..." He let it hang and his security behind the pair reached for their weapons.

Shikamaru tensed slightly but Naruto just gave him a discreet nod. He had this handled. "What kind of verification, Morinosuke-san?" He asked. "We can not offer any proof besides our word."

The old man gave an amused chuckle before crossing his arms over his chest. "How about your tattoos?" He asked. "I was under the impression that all Yakuza had full body tattoos. So, if you wouldn't mind." He gestured to Naruto's jacket.

Naruto saw Shikamaru give him a brief worried look but he didn't let the others see it. Naruto told him to relax via Ino's jutsu and stepped forwards. He slowly took off his jacket and tossed it into the unsuspecting hands of one of the guards by the door. "Hold on to that, would you?" Naruto said smugly as he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to the guard as well.

Morinosuke's brow lowered as he inspected Naruto who had turned around to show him his back. Revealing an intricate tree made of blue ink with swirling branches. By his left shoulder blade was a small waterfall that poured down his back and swirled around the tree.

"Full body Irezumi(tattoos) haven't been used in years, Morinosuke-san. They are to conspicuous and too easy reveal us to outsiders. Mainly the police." He turned back around and turned his back to Shikamaru who was wondering more than anyone how he had a tattoo that he had never seen nor heard of before.

" _Naruto, how in Kami's name did you do that?"_ He asked via Ino's jutsu.

" _Easy, I used a partial transformation jutsu on my back to fake the tattoos. Pervy Sage taught me it years ago when we were undercover."_

" _But what am I going to do?"_ He asked. " _I can't do that. What if they ask to see my tattoos?"_

But before Naruto could reply Morinosuke spoke up. " Those tattoos alone prove nothing. They could be anything."

Naruto held out his hand and a second later the guard returned his jacket and shirt, both were folded neatly and placed on top of each other. Now this, he did not expect. He looked to the guard and gave him a quick nod of thanks before looking back to Morinosuke. "Would this suffice?" He asked, holding out the small finger of his left hand. It was visibly shorter than it should be. Like the top digit had been cut off.

"It's not much proof but my former teacher did this when I tried to go behind his back." He said, showing his short finger to the room.

" _Partial transformation jutsu again?"_ Shikamaru asked.

" _Yup. It's not like I can just chop part of my finger off just for my cover."_

Morinosuke seemed to let out a grumble before removing his arms over his chest and sitting down heavily in his chair behind his desk. He motioned for them to take the seats in front of the desk and they did silently.

He eyed the two a few times before settling on Naruto. "What is it that Shinoda wants?" He asked rudely.

" _Mr._ Shinoda," He stressed his title. "Would like to use your island as a base of operations of sorts. It is located just outside of the Lands of the Great Nations, so we can operate in peace but close enough to still move freely within the ports."

"So what?" Morinosuke asked, seemingly unimpressed. "He just wants to use my island?"

"That would be correct in a way, yes." Naruto nodded his head. "He would like to also come to an agreement about the use of the island. We should easily come to an agreement on price-."

"No." Morinosuke said firmly.

"Pardon, Morinosuke-san?" Naruto asked. "I do not-"

"I refuse." Morinosuke said simply. "This is _my_ island. And _you_ are not welcomed on it."

Naruto continued. "But Morinosuke-san, think of what we are offering. We are the largest criminal organization in the world. We could help your own grow-"

"I have no need for your help." He said sternly. "The way I see it is that Shinoda sees me as competition. That's why he wishes to buy me off. He wants my organization."

Naruto leaned in and tried his best to use a calm, rational voice. They didn't have much of a plan except make something up that he could easily agree to so that he would trust them more but even that was proving difficult.

"You misunderstand, Mr. Shinoda does not wish to take control of your-"

Again, Morinosuke interrupted them with a raised hand. "Do not think a fool, boy. I have been doing this longer than you've been alive. I know how these kind of men think. Shinoda wishes to take my power from me but we won't get anything."

He stood suddenly and leaned close to them, placing his hands on his desk. "I have worked too damn hard to just give it all away to another man. I'm glad that Shinoda didn't come himself, I would've felt bad for wasting his time. Now, if you would excuse me, i have more important business to attend to." Both ninja could hear his lie in his voice but said nothing.

Silently, Naruto rose from his chair and was quickly followed by Shikamaru. "I am sorry that we couldn't come to an agree-"

"Stop your lies, _boy_." Morinosuke rose to his full height and glared at the two. "I don't know what it is… but you two are up to something. The Yakuza just wouldn't show up like this unannounced."

He then gestured to his guards who unlocked the door and opened it wide for the pair. "But mark my words, _boy_ , I will discover what it is, and when I do _you_ will pay with your life."

This made Naruto take a half step closer and raise his voice. "You _dare_ threaten a Wakagashira of Mr. Shinoda so carelessly?" He demanded. He needed to remember to continue to play his role. And his role would not stand for such treatment. " _You_ seem to forget to whom you speak, Morinosuke. I represent Mr. Shinoda himself. We are the Yakuza, fifty thousand strong with firm bonds with every country on this side of the planet. We control more power and influence than you could ever dream."

He took another step closer and was now learning into the desk. "Choose your next words carefully, _Mano_." He stressed his use of his first name, a clear sign of disrespect. "Because your next words dictate how I report to Mr. Shinoda."

Morinosuke's eyes narrowed as his body tensed at Naruto's blatant disrespect. The pair could see him visibly shaking with anger.

" _Maybe it's not the best idea to make him angry, Naruto."_ Shikamaru suggested.

" _I know what I'm doing, trust me."_ He assured him.

"Or…" Naruto said in his usual voice. "I could always send word to Mr. Shinoda about delivering our offer to the man who owns the island next to yours. What was his name again… Oh yes, I remember now, it was _Yagami_ , wasn't it?" At the mention of Morinosuke's business rival he slammed his fist on the table.

"Do not speak his name in front of me!" He yelled. "Fine! If you wish to make a deal with me then I except. But leave Yagami out of it. I don't need that bastard interfering with my work."

Naruto had to hold back a grin. He knew that saying that they'd partner with his rival would do that. Morinosuke wasn't stupid, he wouldn't dare risk missing out on a deal that could put him above his rival. And he certainly wouldn't let his rival have the upper hand over him.

"I'm glad that we could come to an agreement, Morinosuke-san." Naruto said as he held out his hand to shake. Morinosuke seemed to hesitate as he glared at the two but eventually took his hand and shook it.

They both let go and sat back down, preparing to continue the conversation.

Morinosuke turned to face Shikamaru. "Hamamoto-san, please, tell me your conditions."

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Thanks so much for reading, please leave a Review, Follow and Favorite both me and this story.**

 **Also don't forget to check out my FMA fic A Christmas Wish.**

 **The next chapter of this story will be out the 6th of January.**

 **Hephaestus**


	25. Ch25: It Hits The Fan

Chapter 25: It Hits The Fan

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey everyone, Happy New Year! I know that this chapter is late but real life sucks sometimes and I can't help it. Hopefully I can go back to my regular work shift soon. Just a few quick few things before we get into the chapter so bear with me, I know that they're boring but I have a few things to let you guys know.**

" **My Hero":**

 **Firstly, by the time you are reading this the first chapter of my next story "My Hero" has been up for a little over a week. Please give it a read and let me know what you think of it. I am using the first chapter to gauge the response of it. Please leave a REVIEW and let me know what you think, I've had this story planned since the beginning of this one and it's the one that I originally wanted to do. This story was meant to be a short story and not be turned into a full length story. "My Hero" is rated a very strict M for themes, violence, language, blood, mention of self harm, depression, all the works. It is NOT rated for Lemons however, I have made the decision to not include any in it whatsoever. There will be couples, mentions of it and the such but no actual content will be shown. Hopefully that doesn't upset anyone, I myself don't like writing it and I don't believe that I can write anything good if I don't like it. Sorry if you wanted it but I'm just not that writer.**

" **A Christmas Wish":**

 **Second, my first Fullmetal Alchemist one-shot came out a little before Christmas, if you haven't read it then please give it a shot. I have only heard good things about it from reviews, it's really sweet and cute, not my normal style but I absolutely loved writing it. You can find it by going to my profile, check my profile while you're there, if you would please.**

 **Cover Image Request:**

 **Third, concerning "My Hero" I would love to have a custom cover image done for it but I lack both the skills and time to do it myself. I won't be able to pay anyone for it so it'll have to be out of the goodness of your heart. If that doesn't work then maybe you can request a one-shot or short story, I don't know. But please let me know if you'd be interested. I want the image to be of Naruto and Sakura together, I could easily find one from google but I want it to be more special than that. Send me a PM for more info.**

 **My missing Christmas one-shots:**

 **Lastly, I know that in my profile I promised to put out a few more Christmas one-shots but I got sick for three weeks straight before and during Christmas so I wasn't able to write them. I might still write them if you guys want, just let me know with a PM.**

 **Also a huge thanks to xblackxhunterx for helping me beta this chapter and the past several few, I always forget to mention that, sorry xblackxhunterx.**

 **With all of that out of the way I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter, it's setting up the end of the story so be warned. I had less than a week to get it out so I'm sorry if it's not up to par.**

 **Hephaestus**

* * *

Chapter 25: It Hits The Fan

 **(With Naruto and Shou)**

 **Note:**

"Normal conversation/Narration"

'Thoughts'

' _Inner Sakura and thoughts'_

" _Mind Jutsus"_

" _ **Kurama text"**_

 **(With Naruto and Shou)**

After their meeting with Morinosuke, Naruto and Shikamaru decided to get into contact with Shou again in order to try and get as much information out of him about Morinosuke's plan, including these new types of experimental weapons that lands outside of the Elemental Nations had been creating to compete with their ninja. Both Shikamaru and Naruto had heard rumors about the weapons through intelligence gathering but those were all they were, rumors. They had nothing solid yet, so Naruto now sat beside Shou outside Morinosuke's main office building in order to wait for the guard shift.

"Are you sure we can trust this guy?" Naruto asked Shou across from him at their table.

Shou nodded his head. "Yeah, he hates my uncle as much as I do. He's the only guard who doesn't keep an eye on me for my uncle and tattle on me whenever I do something wrong. We can trust him."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You better be right, Shou."

"Don't worry, Ishihara-san, I trust Shoto with my life. When I vouch for you he'll let you in."

Naruto and Shou were waiting for this 'Shoto', one of Morinosuke's security guards, to come on shift so that Shou could get Naruto into the building. Even though Shou is Morinosuke's nephew and heir, he holds very little actual power over anything on the island. He isn't allowed into any of his uncle's restricted rooms without his uncle personally being there to watch him. And since this entire building was restricted, Shou had to wait until a guard he could talk into letting Naruto in, to come on shift.

Naruto and Shou had attempted some small talk earlier but it fell flat instantly. They couldn't really talk about anything anyway, since Naruto was undercover, but he found the silence mind numbing so he decided to try to press Shou for more information.

"What can you tell me about these new weapons that your uncle is smuggling into the country?"

Shou's head snapped up quickly, his eyes widened. He answered quickly but caused himself to stutter. "Uh, w-well my uncle d-didn't tell me anything about them. No surprise there." He said the last sentence under his breath but Naruto easily heard it thanks to his sensitive hearing.

"But I've heard that they are based off some kind of new power source." He shrugged. "I've also never seen one but I heard that my uncle tested out one of them on two guards recently."

Naruto raised a brow in question. "Why would he use his own men for the tests?" He asked.

"I heard that they failed him recently." He leaned in a little over the table. "You should know that my uncle gets rid of _anything_ he deems useless or inferior. Including his own men. It's as he always says, he has no use for _inferior_ products."

Everything Naruto heard about Morinosuke made him hate him more. From the literal harem of women he kept around on the island to the not so legal method of how he came to own the island. Mano Morinosuke was clearly not your garden variety bad guy. He had no redeeming qualities except for his unique code of honor. But even that didn't make Naruto want to throw him before the Kage any less.

"Do you have any idea where the weapons are being held?" Naruto asked.

Shou shook his head. "Not really. I know that my uncle has a bunker for all of the weapons and drugs but I don't know where it is." He asked before a slightly confused look came across his face. "But why do you ask about the weapons? I thought that we were after a list of the members of the crime ring?"

Shit, even though Shou wasn't the smartest guy in the room, Naruto had to admit that he wasn't _completely_ stupid. Naruto easily kept his reaction neutral though, he had to keep up appearances.

"We are, but I would rather not have to worry about having to face off against these weapons if Morinosuke catches wind of our actions." Naruto said evenly before leaning back in his chair. "Besides, I am sure that my boss would love some new experimental weapons. We don't have much of a way of competing against the ninja of the Elemental Nations either."

Shou nodded, seemingly convinced. "Makes sense, I can't imagine having to try to fight against those crazy powerful ninja. I mean have you _heard_ about some of the things that they can do?" He asked.

Naruto shook his head. Pretending to not know. Shou continued. "I've heard that they can walk on water and run up walls. That's crazy, isn't it? I mean, I've heard that some of them can transform, teleport and duplicate themselves. How are we normal people supposed to compete against that? That's not even anything compared to the guy that they call 'The Fox'."

Naruto's eyes widened at the obvious mention of him. He had a hard time keeping his face calm. He cleared his throat. "The Fox?" He asked.

Shou gave him a surprised reaction, like he couldn't believe it. "You mean that you haven't heard of him? How?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. We keep to ourselves and try not to get involved with the ninja."

"Well he's insane." Shou said quickly. "I heard that he can transform into a hundred foot tall fox made of fire and destroy mountains with a single swipe of his paw."

"No way."

"I'm serious. He apparently made a deal with the devil or something and it granted him his power. It's said that he destroyed an entire army of thousands of monsters in one move. He's apparently so strong that in his normal form he can lift a mountain and fast enough to outspeed any weapon. I've even heard from some mercenaries that they've seen him in action. They said that he is the lap dog of the Kage of the Elemental Nations and created by them in order to be their most powerful weapon. That's why no nation can go up against them. The Fox is too stupid powerful."

Naruto had to keep himself from laughing at the wildly over exaggerated claims about himself. Lift a mountain as himself? He can't do anything close to that. He turned on a disbelieving voice. "Sounds like crap to me. No way someone like that could exist."

Shou shook his head furiously. "No, I'm not kidding! He's real! They say that he was the one who killed that crazy immortal guy who wanted to take over the world!"

"Who?" Naruto asked, feigning ignorance.

Shou's eyes widened comically. "You mean that you don't know about the guy who stopped time with his powers?"

"Stopping time? With powers?" Naruto asked, sounding skeptical. "What are you guys drinking over here? People can't stop time."

"But this guy did! But before he could take over the world, The Fox stopped him."

Naruto was about to open his mouth when from the corner of his eye he saw another guard walk up to the front door. He and the other guard exchanged no words before walking away. Leaving the new guard named 'Shoto' standing in front of the door. Shou seemed to notice this too.

"Ah, there he is! Let's go." Shou said to Naruto as he stood up and started walking to the door.

oooOooo

"That was easier than I thought." Naruto said as he and Shou walked down the hall after being let in by Shoto.

"I told you he'd let us in." Shou said as he directed the way. "He doesn't really care what I do and once I vouch for someone he always agrees. I normally just bribe him with some alcohol whenever I need to sneak around with Niwa."

"So where is Morinosuke's office?" Naruto asked. "The top floor I guess?"

Shou nodded his head. "That would be correct, Ishihara-san. My uncle's office is on the top floor. The only way to reach it is to use his private elevator."

Naruto stopped walking, Shou noticed this and turned back to him. "Private elevator?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, only he and a select few of his guards have the key." Shou said with a confident nod.

Naruto only looked at the other man for a few seconds before narrowing his eyes dangerously. "And you _do_ have a key, right?"

"Nope." Shou said quickly. He stood and watched Naruto's face with confusion for a few seconds before the realization hit him. "Ah crap!" He facepalmed.

Naruto stepped up to him and made sure to keep his voice down. " _How exactly_ are we supposed to get up the five floors to his office without the elevator?"

Shou only gave him a blank look in response.

Nevermind his earlier thought, Naruto was now sure that Shou was an idiot.

Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking. If he got the door to the elevator shaft open then he could easily just chakra walk up the side of the wall and get there without breaking a sweat. But now, with Shou tagging along he couldn't reveal his abilities. What about climbing up the cable? Would that work? But would Shou even be able to climb up the five stories of cable?

Naruto took a quick look at Shou, he was an inch taller than him and in good physical shape, if only for show and to boost his own ego, but he should be physically capable of climbing the distance.

"I have an idea." Naruto said as stepped up to the elevator at the end of the hall. Shou followed. "How good are you at climbing?"

oooOooo

Needless to say but the climb up the cable was extremely… frustrating. As Naruto expected, Shou wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea and was opposed to the idea entirely. When Naruto pried the doors open and boosted Shou onto the top on the elevator through the small hatch, the other man refused to climb the cable. Apparently he was deathly afraid of heights. So that is how Naruto found himself in his current predicament, climbing up a three inch wide cable up five floors with another man clinging desperately onto his back to keep from falling. If any of his friends saw this he'd never be able to live it down. It was so humiliating.

"Can you just pry the door open?" Naruto asked, his patience was wearing thin and his voice reflected that.

"No!" Shou said loudly. His eyes closed as he held onto Natuto with a death grip.

"Well you're going to _have_ to since I need my hands to hold onto the cable. Which, I remind you, I'm still holding onto as we speak. It is also very slippery so you better man up and open the door before we _both_ fall."

Thanks to the grease on the cable actually gripping the cable was early impossible, the only reason why Naruto got this far was because he used his chakra to stick to the cable. It was the same idea as chakra walking up a tree, albeit slower and more strenuous on his arms.

"Please don't drop me!" Shou yelled in his ear. Naruto had to tighten his grip, Shou's loud cries of fear while climbing up the cable didn't help either.

"I _will_ if you don't hurry up and open the door." Naruto warned.

"I can't!" He whined.

Naruto rolled his eyes and seriously had to stop himself from just dropping Shou and climbing up himself. He was sure that he could just find whatever information he needed himself.

Coming to the realization that Shou would never let go of him long enough to pry the door open, Naruto let out a low 'Troublesome' that he was sure he picked up from working with Shikamaru before letting go of the cable with one hand and slamming his chakra powered fist into the metal door. Luckily for him, Shou had his eyes closed the entire time so that allowed Naruto to use Kurama's chakra to supercharge his muscles for a quick moment.

As soon as Naruto's feet were on solid ground he rudely knocked Shou off of his back, since the other man was still holding on for dear life and- was he crying? Naruto only felt himself roll his eyes one more time before clearing his throat.

"Now Shou, you're _sure_ that Shoto turned the cameras off , right? You're sure that we can trust him?" Naruto only received wheezing and calming breaths for a response as Shou tried his best to get himself calmed down.

"This guy is pathetic." He mumbled under his breath, only Kurama heard and let out an amused chuckle in his head. Shou was currently kissing the hardwood floor like a deprived man.

"Let's get this over with as soon as possible." Naruto huffed as he started down the short hall and into Morinisuke's office.

As Naruto placed a hand on the door his enhanced senses kicked in, stopping him mid motion. He sensed a presence on the other side of the door. Was it Morinosuke? He wasn't supposed to be here!

Shou got up off the floor and stood behind Naruto, he was about to open his mouth, no doubt to complain again, but before he could Naruto covered his mouth with his hand. He held a finger to his lips, signalling for Shou to be quiet.

Naruto removed his hand and pressed his ear softly against the door, trying to hear who was on the other side. From what he could hear, and the confirmation from Kurama, it was a lone male in the room, walking in a tight circle. No doubt bored and pacing.

'So it's a guard.' Naruto thought. 'Good.' He turned briefly to signal for Shou to stay back, only to receive a confused look and a questioning shrug in return.

'I swear to Kami…' He mumbled to Kurama in his head. 'This guy is useless.' This time Naruto just held up an open hand to Shou, the universal sign to stop. Thankfully, for Naruto's sake, Shou understood this and stepped back and stood behind the corner.

Shou swore that he was only behind the corner for a second before he heard the door slam open, a surprised yelp, muffled shouts before a loud 'thud' that he assumed to be the person behind the door. Shou hesitantly stuck his head out and saw one of his uncle's guards on the ground, hogtied with the belt from his own haori. He was also unconscious as well, Shou noticed.

"How did you do that?" He asked in disbelief.

Naruto only gave him a smirk before getting off of the unconscious man he was sitting on. "That was nothing, believe me. Now, come on, we got to find all the information we need before Morinosuke gets back."

oooOooo

 **(Later)**

Naruto and Shou had only been in Morinosuke's office for a few minutes and had yet to find anything incriminating when Naruto sensed people approaching. He dropped the file in his hand instantly and turned to Shou.

"Someone's coming! Hide!" Naruto said in a quick, hushed voice.

"Where?!" Shou asked as he turned but when he did he couldn't find Naruto. Where did he go? Realizing that he was standing in the center of his uncle's office with a pile of files around him, he froze. He could hear the feet against the wood flooring. And when the door opened he couldn't do anything but stare wide-eyed as he came face to face with his uncle.

"Shou?" Morinosuke asked as he stopped in the doorway. Confusion clearly written on his face. "Did I summon you here?" He asked with a tilted head. He seemed genuinely confused as to why Shou was in his office. To him it was inconceivable that Shou was first able to get into his office without permission and second he didn't believe that Shou would be here without being required to be.

Shou wasn't able to answer, he was only able to stare at his uncle as his face went pale and sweat visibly dripped from his brow. Morinosuke narrowed his eyes slightly as he stood straighter and spoke in a low voice.

"What _are_ you doing here, Shou?" He took a half step closer, still unable to see the files on the ground thanks to the coffee table.

'Shit.' Naruto thought from his place on the ceiling. He was using a type of 'chameleon jutsu' that Pervy Sage taught him. And even though his master frequently only used it while doing his 'research', Naruto found that while the jutsu had its flaws since it couldn't be used in motion, it did have a great potential in espionage, if used correctly.

'Say something, Shou'. He thought, wishing more than anything that he could just jump down there, take out Morinosuke and his men and get the hell out of there.

"Well?" Morinosuke asked. His mood growing more sour as the seconds ticked by.

"...W-well I u-uh…" Shou tried to think of something but his mind went blank, only fearing what his uncle was going to do to him once he figured out what was going on.

"Spit it out, _boy_!" He spat. He took another small step forward before his eyes widened slightly, as he was remembering something. "Wait… Where is Yagi?"

Naruto didn't know who this 'Yagi' was but after a second it clicked. Yagi must have been the guard that was in the office when they broke in. The guard that Naruto knocked out and the guard that was currently lying on the floor behind Morinosuke's large desk.

It was then when Morinosuke looked to the open file cabinet and saw the file currently in Shou's hand. Naruto didn't even have time to think before Morinosuke closed the remaining gap between him, grabbing the young man and raising him off the ground by his collar.

"What the hell is going on here, _boy_?" He yelled, his face only an inch from Shou's.

"U-uncle I-" Shou tried to speak but his head was slammed into the wall, hard.

"Ah!" Shou yelled in pain. Naruto winced at the sound.

Morinosuke looked like he was about to set the young man down until he looked around him and saw the now visible unconscious guard tied on the floor. All of the muscles inside of Morinosuke tensed for a few seconds before he slammed Shou back into the wall with a loud 'thud'. Chips of the wall fell to the ground when he pulled Shou back to him.

"Tell me what is going on here, Shou." His voice was low and dangerous. Almost a growl. "Tell me before I beat it out of you."

The look of pain and fear washed off of Shou's face. The young man seemed to find his courage for the briefest of moments. He gave his uncle a bloody smile before spitting in his uncle's face.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore, uncle!" He said with a bloody smile before increasing his volume and yelling in his uncle's face fo the first time in his life. "You don't have any power over me anymore! I _refuse_ to give you that power anymore!"

Those words sounded familiar to Naruto, he knew that they were. But he couldn't-

Oh no, those were _his_ words to Shou about Morinosuke. Naruto's eyes went wide as he clung to the wall and watched as the two guards that had followed Morinosuke in started to leave without a word. This was _not_ going to go well.

Morinosuke's face was neutral for a few seconds before instantly darkening over, twitching with rage. "What did you say?!" He screamed at the young man he still held off the ground with one hand.

"I said 'screw you'." Shou spat. "You murderous bastard."

"Aaahhhh!" Shou screamed as his uncle launched his massive fist into the young man's stomach.

Naruto's body tensed instinctively as he prepared to move.

" _ **Don't move, Kit."**_ Kurama said. " _ **I know that you want to help but we need to keep our cover. He hasn't noticed us yet."**_

'But-.'

" _ **Save it, Kit. I want to kill that human as much as you do but we don't have jurisdiction here, we can only fight in order of self defense. Until we hear back from the Kage we can't lay a finger on him."**_

Kurama was right, Naruto knew that. Without express permission from either Kakashi-sensei or another Kage he couldn't make a move against Morinosuke outside of the Elemental Nations. But damn did Naruto want to beat the man into the ground for everything he's done.

"Hhggg!" Shou groaned out as his uncle slammed him to the floor. His large fists now wearing brass knuckles. He raised his fist above the young man's head.

"You ungrateful boy!" He roared. "Everything that you have in life you got from me! Without me you're nothing! Just another pathetic child crying over his mother and father!"

Shou's eyes flashed red for a second before he swung his free fist at his uncle. Connecting to his jaw with a harsh sound. "Don't talk about my parents, you murderer!" He screamed.

A second later Shou realized his mistake, he shouldn't have done that. Morinosuke's head turned slowly back to face his nephew, he silently raised his fist again before opening his mouth.

"I'm going to kill you, you ungrateful boy!"

Naruto's fists were clenched and his teeth were grinding so hard that he worried that they might break. He wanted to do something so badly. No one, not even someone he doesn't get along with like Shou, deserves this.

'Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!' Naruto screamed inside his head.

" _ **Calm yourself, Kit."**_ Kurama ordered. " _ **If he kills Shou then we might be able to convince Hatake to-"**_ But the chakra beast wasn't able to finish his words as Naruto launched himself off the wall, undoing his jutsu, and slamming his fist into Morinosuke's face as the latter's was an inch from Shou's face.

"Aaahhhh!" Mano yelled as he was knocked off his feet and into the wall. Clutching his bloody jaw as he turned to see Naruto standing over him, his fists still raised and his stance firm.

"Don't lay another hand on him, Mano." He warned dangerously.

"You!" Morinosuke screamed in rage. "I knew that you were behind this! I'm going to kill you!" He struggled to get to his feet but he was knocked back into the wall by a gut punch from Naruto.

"We still have a deal, Morinosuke." Naruto said, trying his best to keep himself calm. Them walking out of here without a fight relied on it. "Or don't you remember? My associate and I offered a deal with you from Mr. Shinoda. And in that deal it stated explicitly that we were not allowed to harm each other."

Morinosuke's eyes narrowed. "And what do you call interfering where it doesn't concern you, Yakuza?!" He yelled.

Naruto narrowed his eyes in return. "I was preventing you from murdering your own nephew." He growled. "We prize family and loyalty above all else, Mr. Shinoda would _not_ be pleased if he heard that you killed your sole heir."

Morinosuke made a motion to get up but Naruto took a step closer and held out a hand. "Now here's what's going to happen, Morinosuke." Naruto said in a low voice. "Shou and I are going to leave and you are going to do nothing but wipe that blood off your face and get a drink. You did _not_ find Shou in your office, you did _not_ try to kill him and I _didn't_ stop you. I was _never_ here."

"Do you really think that I-"

"You have no choice." Naruto growled. "We are the Yakuza. You _don't_ break deals with us. If you say or do anything then _we will kill you_."

" _ **Are you prepared if he calls your bluff, Kit?"**_ Kurama asked in his head. Naruto gave a nod.

"Stand up and try to come at me if you think I'm bluffing." He dared. He only received a glare before the older man turned his eyes away from him. "Good choice."

Before Morinosuke could change his mind, Naruto reached a hand out to the wide-eyed and shocked Shou. He took it after a few seconds and was pulled to his unstable feet. Naruto helped the limping man out of the room silently. Never taking his eyes off of the old man.

oooOooo

 **(Later with Naruto and Shou)**

Naruto rushed Shou out of the building as fast as he could move, the other man was losing a lot of blood. He needed to get him back to his villa so that he could start first aid. Halfway to the other mans' room he passed out from the blood loss. Naruto risked breaking his cover and used his full speed to get to this villa in under a minute.

Shou's villa was currently quite, Niwa was sitting in the living room painting her nails when the front door suddenly burst open to reveal Naruto holding an unconscious Shou in his arms.

"Shou!" She screamed as she saw her boyfriend. She raced to where Naruto placed him on a couch. "What in Kami's name happened?" She demanded.

"His uncle." Was all Naruto said before he threw caution to the wind and summoned a field trauma kit in front of Niwa, surprising the poor girl when a bag appeared in his hand. Naruto began working on the other man as soon as he dumped the contents of the bag on the floor. He was nothing compared to Lady Tsunade or Sakura but he did know his way around a first aid kit. His chakra was useless at healing though, it would cause more harm than good. So he was forced to rely on his average ability at first aid.

"Shou! Shou honey!" Niwa yelled as she sat down by his head and held his hand. "Stay with me!"

oooOooo

 **(Later)**

Naruto wasn't a medic. He didn't have it in him. It wasn't the skills or experience he lacked, it was the ability to look at a hurting or dying person and admit that there was nothing he could do. He couldn't stand being useless. He didn't understand how Sakura could stomach it.

After stabling Shou the best he could, Naruto explained as much as he could to a distraught Niwa, he cleaned himself up and wished his best to Niwa before heading to the door, he was stopped when he felt her grab him.

"Thank you." She whispered as she tried her best to hug him from behind. He wordlessly turned around and tightly held her, letting her cry for a minute before he left.

Naruto made his way back to his villa without even realizing it. He just found himself at the door. Sakura was waiting for him on the couch with a smile on her face but when she saw her boyfriend stumble in, dried blood on his clothes and an all to familiar look in his eyes, she knew something happened.

"Naru-kun, what happened?" She asked, clearing the distance to him and hugging him, checking him for injuries.

"Morinosuke caught us." He whispered. "He beat Shou. I had to stop him."

Her eyes widened. "Did you…?" She couldn't make herself say it.

"...No." He finally answered. "But I should've."

They stood in silence for a minute before Naruto broke it. "We need to contact the others."

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Thanks for reading, please leave a REVIEW, Follow and Favorite both me and this story. Also check out my Profile and my new poll to vote on what one-shots you would like to do in the future. I already have one vote for a NarutoxTenten one-shot. If you can't vote just let me know with a PM.**

 **Until next time this has been Hephaestus**


	26. Ch26: On Our Own

Chapter 26: On Our Own

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey everyone! I am still alive and kicking! Sorry about the delay but hopefully this chapter makes you all forgive me. But be warned, it gets a little tear jerking towards the end. You've been warned.**

 **Remaining story length:**

 **As you could probably tell, this story is quickly wrapping up in a few chapters. I only have a few planned after this one, including a kind of epilogue one. I know that some of you wanted me to continue this story long after the mission but in order to get to my next story we have to wrap this story up. Such is life.**

' **My Hero':**

 **If you haven't read my other Naruto story, 'My Hero' then go to my profile and give it a read. It's my next planned story. If you read it when it came out then give it another read, I have edited it a bit since then, mostly corrected the format that got ruined after I uploaded it. I still plan to edit it more before chapter 2 comes out.**

 **Social Media:**

 **I have a Twi tter now, I have no idea if FF will let me advertise them on here so I split it up. Hopefully it's fine. I'm brand new to Twi tter so I'm sorry that I don't really know how to use it but I plan to have it as a means of putting out announcements, questions, polls and other things in a much easier way. So if you'd all follow me on there then that'd be great.**

 **One word:** HephaestusBuil1

 **Remember to leave a Review, Follow and Favorite both me and this story.**

 **I don't own Naruto, duh, if I did then the ending would've been completely different and aliens wouldn't be canon. Also Sakura would've been handled way differently. Anyway, I own nothing, nada, zilch, zero.**

* * *

Chapter 26: On Our Own

 **Note:**

"Normal conversation/Narration"

'Thoughts'

' _Inner Sakura and thoughts'_

" _Mind Jutsus"_

" _ **Kurama text"**_

 **(With Shikamaru)**

" _We have a problem."_ When Naruto told Shikamaru those four words his good day hanging with his girlfriend went out the window. But that was the life of a ninja and the mission always came first. So after letting out a 'troublesome' and beckoning Temari over to him, Shikamaru responded to the telepathic conversation.

" _What happened?"_ He asked, almost scared to ask. Naruto didn't sound like himself. Something _really_ must have gone bad if his usually upbeat friend sounded this sullen.

After what Shikamaru guessed was a pause from Naruto to listen to Sakura, and after confirming that everyone was connected via Ino's jutsu, Naruto told them everything that happened with Morinosuke and Shou.

" _How did Niwa take it?"_ Temari was the first to speak after Naruto finished his play by play. Shikamaru didn't find it surprising that she was the one to ask about the girl, given her caring, but usually well-hidden, nature.

" _...She looked devastated."_ Naruto finally said after a few seconds of silence. " _I know that we had our problems with her and Shou at the beginning, but this… neither of them deserved this."_

" _I agree."_ Sakura said. " _Everything aside, she's still just a girl our age. She's probably never experienced anything like this before. This has to be unbearable for her."_

A few more seconds passed before Sai spoke up. " _So what is our plan, Shikamaru?"_ He asked, reminding them all about the current situation that none of them wanted to think of.

The ninja group could feel Shikamaru's genius mind thinking in their minds. It was a truly mind-boggling experience. Feeling his unique mind cover more ideas in a second than they could think of in an hour.

After half a minute Shikamaru stopped thinking and turned his attention back to his friends. " _Well as I see it we have no other choice but to sit and wait and see what happens. And while I would rather do anything but that right now, we have no choice. We still don't have anything we can pin on Morinosuke that would warrant us arresting him and bringing him to the Feudal Lords and Kage."_ Shikamaru felt the others all nod in his head.

" _I say right now we all go to bed and get some sleep, especially you, Naruto."_ He said as an afterthought. " _We will try to gather more information tomorrow but if we can't we might just have to send word to Kakashi-sensei and ask if we can take down Morinosuke by force and seize control of the island ourselves without waiting for backup."_ He paused to rub his temple and give Temari a weary look.

" _But as we all know that is supposed to be saved for a last case scenario, so we can't rely on them giving us the 'go ahead'."_ The Nara said before Ino spoke up.

" _The problem also lies in being able to contact them from this distance, remember? Even with our fastest messenger summons it will take a few days at least to get word back."_ Ino reminded them.

" _My telepathy jutsu can't reach that far even with an amplifier. So if something goes wrong then we're on our own."_ Ino said with a glum tone.

" _...So what do we do if that happens?"_ Sakura asked hesitantly. " _Normally according to regulations the commander of the mission gets to use their discretion… Do we do that now? We don't have the time to ask for orders, so do we just… do it our way?"_

Sakura wasn't the type of person to go against orders, and Shikamaru knew that. So when Sakura of all people asked if they should disregard orders and act on their own he took a few seconds to think it over. She was right, even if they reported to Kakashi-sensei they wouldn't be able to get their orders fast enough to not be redundant. Shou, their only lead and informant was in critical condition and their target was already suspicious of them to begin with, now even more so. Morinosuke would no doubt try something within the next few days, Shikamaru was sure of that. The only thing he could do was wait for it and go from there. But then-

He was momentarily shaken from his thoughts when he felt Temari's hand on his own in his lap. He turned to see her looking at him with a calming expression.

"Don't stress over it, Shika." She said out loud so that the others couldn't hear her. "Even if we're on our own I'm not worrying. We have your brain to get us out of this situation, I don't doubt you for a second." She said sweetly, with a tone that Shikamaru knew was completely truthful.

He gave her a smile before giving her a chaste kiss on her head that was now leaning on his shoulder as they sat on their bed. "Thanks Tem."

" _Shikamaru?"_ Sakura asked after not hearing from him for a little while.

" _I'm here."_ He said, back in his authoritative voice. " _Everyone go to bed. We'll talk more in the morning, it'll give me more time to come up with a plan and we'll go from there. As it stands we're still going by the original plan until Morinosuke makes his move. After that we send word to Kakashi-sensei and wait for more orders. But if what I'm assuming happens then we'll go with what Sakura said and take matters into our own hands. Any questions?"_

Not hearing any he called the meeting over and told everyone to go to sleep. Hopefully he'd be able to get some actual sleep himself tonight with everything going on. After changing into a pair of shorts he joined Temari in bed and she instantly curled up next to him, half laying on him and half on the bed. It was a little uncomfortable because of the heat and weight on his chest restricting his breathing and movements but he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Goodnight, babe." She said with a yawn.

"Goodnight, beautiful."

oooOooo

 **(With Naruto and Sakura sometime in the night)**

" _ **Wake up, Kit! Now!"**_ Kurama's sudden voice in his head woke the blond hero from his sleep instantly. Years of sleeping in enemy territory would do that to you. He had to force himself to not spring out of bed and take a fighting stance, he needed to hear from Kurama what was going on.

'What is it?' He asked as he moved his hand slightly to check the bed next to him and to his relief Sakura was there and still seemingly asleep and unharmed.

" _ **I sense movement outside on the walkway, in the water and on the roof."**_ _The chakra beast said with a serious tone._ " _ **And from what I can tell they are all armed and possess more chakra and power than anyone I've sensed on this island so far."**_

'So they're ninja?'

" _ **Not sure, the chakra is a bit low for seasoned ninja but skilled warriors nonetheless."**_

Naruto paused for a few seconds to slowly and carefully wrap his arm around Sakura's sleeping waist, preparing to move. 'How many are there? Enough to worry about them attacking at once?' He asked the fox in his mind.

Kurama was silent for a second, Naruto assumed he was trying to get an accurate number. Naruto felt Kurama about to speak inside his head and stopped moving to listen.

" _ **I sense twenty two people, all men, and all moving in- BRACE YOURSELF!"**_ He roared to his container. Not a second later the window closest to their bed exploded into thousands of tiny shards and Naruto could see a cylindrical shape now in the center of their room.

"It's a bomb!" " _ **It's a bomb!"**_ Both Naruto and Kurama yelled as one as Naruto tackled Sakura to the ground and activated his chakra cloak to protect them. Sakura wasn't even able to ask what was going on before a large explosion woke her up fully.

BOOOOOMMM!

Sakura yelled in surprise as Naruto yelled in pain from from blocking the explosion and covering her with his back. After a few seconds only silence was heard as Sakura fully realized what was going on and began to heal Naruto's back. But she was stopped short when more than a dozen figures burst into the room and a rough hand gripped her wrist.

Naruto's hand.

Before she could register what was happening, Naruto threw her to the other side of the room and once he was sans Sakura, he rushed to the nearest man with a intimidating yell.

"Hhggg!" The mask wearing man let out a painful noise when Naruto sent a full powered punch to his gut before darting to the next man. The next seven or eight men all suffered a few powerful blows.

Sakura watched in awe as Naruto jumped from man to man, dropping them all to the floor with a series devastating blows to either the stomach or a vital spot. Just as he did when he jammed two extended fingers into the neck of a man who had sneaked up on Sakura from behind. She didn't even know he was there until Naruto was suddenly in front of her, his arm extending over her as his other grabbed her. She managed to get a brief look at the man now laying on the floor, she assumed he was alive since Naruto very rarely ever killed anyone outright, but when the man didn't move at all she wasn't so sure. She wasn't able to ask before she felt Naruto's grip on her increase and felt his chakra surge, and in the blink on an eye Sakura found herself surrounded by trees and suddenly very nauseous. It took a few seconds to register but she realized that he had used his Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport them.

The pinkette had to grab hold of a nearby tree and force herself to keep her food down. Naruto's jutsu always made her nauseous. After making sure that she was okay, Naruto activated his sage mode to survey their surroundings. Finding no one around he turned back to Sakura to explain what happened.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" He asked, still a little worried that she still looked shaken from the sudden teleportation.

"...J-just give… me a… warning next time, would… you?" She asked as she clutched her stomach, bending slightly over.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, but we had to get out of there quickly." He apologized, giving her a warm smile while scratching the back of his head. "I couldn't fight those guys and worry about you at the same time."

"I know, don't worry about it." She said, standing up straight again. Her tone turned a little more serious, as did her expression. "Stop worrying about me, I'm good, go help the others."

Naruto only replied with a nod and he was gone using his jutsu to teleport to the others who had no doubt been attacked as well.

 **(With everyone, a little later in the forest beyond the resort)**

"I'm glad that you showed up, Naruto." Temari said once they all gathered together. "We were still asleep and if you didn't appear when you did they would've gotten the drop on us."

Naruto waved off the thanks. "It's not a problem, Temari. No big deal."

"Does anyone have any injuries?" The local medic asked.

"Sai does," Ino spoke up to her friend, pointing her thumb over to Sai. "He's just too proud to admit it."

"I am not," Sai tried to argue. "I am perfectly fine. Nothing to worry about." Ino shot him a glare.

Sai gave her a look and made the move to hide his left arm behind his back, but Ino just rolled her eyes and grabbed it, causing Sai to wince in pain.

"See?" She asked Sai. "I _told_ you that you weren't fine. Now let Sakura take a look at your hand."

"Yes, Ino." Sai mumbled out, taking his left arm out from behind his back and showing Sakura. To everyone's surprise a broken knife blade was embedded in his hand.

"Sai! You've been stabbed!" Sakura yelled in a chastising manner. "You need to tell me these things, I _am_ the medic of this mission."

"Okay." He mumbled as Sakura began the process of removing the blade from his hand.

"How did this happen?" Sakura asked to both Ino and Sai, but her friend only shrugged and gestured for Sai to answer the question.

"Uh, a man stabbed me?" Was his answer.

Sakura stopped her healing for a moment and gave him a glare. "Not helping." She said. "Now seriously, how did this happen?"

Sai looked uncomfortable for a few seconds and Sakura couldn't help but notice that he was looking anywhere but Ino at the moment. He only started to speak when Ino left to go talk to Shikamaru a few feet away. "Well, uh, I woke up when I sensed someone above me," He started. "Then before I knew it, the assassin was going to stab Ino in her sleep and I… blocked him…"

Sakura's eyes widened a little. "With your hand?" She asked in disbelief. He nodded. She hung her head a little and sighed. "I'd expect that kind of reckless behavior from Naruto, not you. Hell, he's _done_ that before." She said the last bit under her breath and to herself more than him.

Sakura took a look over to where Ino was and then back to Sai. She could sense something was up. "Does she know you saved her life?" She asked, her questions surprised Sai who hadn't been paying attention.

"...No." He said softly after a few seconds. "And I would prefer that she didn't know."

Sakura gave him a questioning look. "Why?" She asked. "You _do_ realize that she won't be upset that you _saved her life_ , right?"

Sai seemed to squirm a little at the question, unsure of what to say. "Well I-"

"Oh shit!"

Naruto's loud and sudden voice interrupted all the conversations going on in the small group. Each of them turned to see what was going on. Shikamaru was the first to react, his face filled with worry.

"What happened, Naruto?" He asked.

"I'm so stupid!" Naruto said, not answering the question and seemingly unaware of it. He hit himself on the head. "I forgot about Shou!"

"What?" Temari asked.

"Morinosuke-, Shou is in danger too!" Naruto answered before taking a small step back and charging his chakra. "I gotta go help him and Niwa."

"Naruto, wait-" Shikamaru started to say but Naruto was gone before he could even finish.

 **(With Naruto a little later)**

'Stupid stupid stupid!' Naruto yelled to himself as he darted through the trees to Shou's villa. 'I should've left a summons formula there, dammit!'

Naruto soared over a tall palm tree, his form against the bright full moon above him. He could see Shou's villa from here, he'd be there in a few seconds.

" _ **I don't sense anyone else around the place, Kit. But…"**_ Kurama trailed off but just as Naruto was about to ask he realized what Kurama was about to say.

Blood.

He smelled blood as he landed on the walkway and stepped up to the door. A lot of blood.

BAAAM! Naruto didn't even hesitate when he kicked the door in as hard as he could. He heard a clearly feminine scream coming from inside when he did.

He didn't even make it two steps in before he had to block a knife sent to his face. He caught the opposing wrist easily and was about to twist it back when he caught the sight of a familiar face behind the blade.

Niwa's face. Niwa's bawling, terrified, tear and blood splattered face.

'Oh no.' He thought.

"Y-Yuuto?!" She shrieked at seeing his face. She quickly let go of the knife, dropping it on the floor with a dull 'thud'.

"Yeah, it's me, Niwa." Naruto said as he took a step closer, bringing himself into the light and letting her see him. Her face turned from horrified to tearful when he did.

"Oh thank Kami." She said between sobs, grabbing onto him with a tight hug. "...I… I to-thought that… you were here to… k-kill me. I'm- I'm so sorry." She cried into his shoulder, he couldn't force himself to let go yet and take a look at the room, from her reaction he knew what happened. He _knew_ what he'd find.

"Shush, shh shhhh. It's okay, don't worry." He whispered to her as calmly as possible. She was holding on to him with a deathgrip and didn't seem to plan to let go. Not that he minded in the moment. She needed comfort right now, he knew that.

Taking a gulp he pulled his eyes from the crying woman hugging him and drifted them across the room. It didn't even take a second to find an unmoving lump on the couch where he left Shou yesterday. Naruto felt his heart ache for Niwa. He didn't want to upset her anymore but he needed to know what happened. _Needed_ to know what happened because of _him_.

"Wha- what happened, Niwa?" He managed to get his voice to work long enough to ask. Not knowing how he did it.

The shorter woman's head shot up quickly to look at his. Naruto felt like he was going to break when he saw her face. She was in so much pain it hurt him to look at her. "...I- I woke up and s-saw several men above me and Shou-kun. I fell a-asleep on the floor next to him." She explained.

She sniffled and more tears began to flow down her face as she pressed her face against his chest. "I wasn't e-even able to do anything! They killed him! They held me and m-made me watch…" She gripped onto Naruto even harder. "...H-he didn't even w-wake up since you brought him here… I never- never got to say goodbye."

She moved her head to look up to him again. More tears than before on her face. Her voice was so shaky and broken Naruto could barely hear her, even with the close distance. She held up something that sparkled in the dim light.

Naruto looked at the item in question and instantly lost his forced calm composer from earlier, his eyes stared to tear up. Niwa was holding up a silver band.

"H-he was going to p-propose." She cried softly. "I f-found it yesterday while you two were gone."

She held the ring against her chest. "I'm so stupid." She muttered.

Naruto's eyes widened a little as he turned her chin up to look at him. "You're not stupid, Niwa." He said.

She shook her head vigorously. "No, I am. Shou-kun's had been acting differently around me since we got here and I didn't even pay attention. I-, I just kept acting like normal! I didn't even realize that he- that he loved me enough to- enough to…"

She couldn't say it, Naruto could tell. He wish he were better with words. He wished that there was something that he could say to help her in this situation but there wasn't. So he did the only thing he knew how to do: he continued to hold her as she cried onto his shoulder. Not moving, not saying anything, just trying to comfort the poor girl as much as he could.

As he held her, Naruto's eyes drifted back to the couch that held Shou. He could see the field trauma kit that he left for Niwa on the ground with its contents thrown across the floor in front of the couch. Naruto could see several blood drenched bandages on the floor and couch, along with a sewing kit for sewing wounds. The blond felt his heart ache even more, she had tried to save him even after she _had to know_ he was dead.

'This girl,' He thought. 'Loved Shou more than she realized.'

 **(Later with everyone)**

"Shh! I hear someone coming!" Shikamaru said in a hushed whisper, interrupting a conversation between Ino and Temari, no doubt about his and Temari's relationship. The other ninja instantly silenced themselves and took fighting stances.

Light footsteps could be heard as a body made its way through the dense foliage of the forest. Shikamaru tensed, he wished that he had a weapon on him at the moment, his Shadow jutsus weren't much use in the dark under a thick canopy of trees.

"Don't worry, it's me." A voice called from behind the bushes. Shikamaru and the others each let out a sigh of relief, it was only Naruto. His voice sounded again a few seconds later, this time closer. "Sakura-chan, prepare a spot, I have someone with me."

Sakura stood still for a second as Naruto stepped out of a bush, a body in his arms. It didn't even take a second before her medic training kicked in and she quickly cleared a place on the ground and laid out a blanket. She then started to take out her medical bag that Naruto had stored for her earlier in a scroll.

She then looked up expecting Shou in his arms but was surprised when she saw Niwa in his arms. Naruto put the sniffling girl on the blanket and after a smile and a firm nod Niwa stopped looking so worried and faced the others.

"This is Hana, she's a medic." Naruto told the girl. "She's just going to make sure you're okay... Do you need me to stay here?" He asked.

Niwa seemed to hesitate for a second as she looked at Sakura next to her but finally shook her head. "No." She said softly. "Thank you, Yuuto."

"No problem, Niwa." He replied with a calming smile. He then turned to Shikamaru and to answer the questions that he no doubt had.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked no less than two seconds after Naruto turned around.

Naruto shot a glance at Niwa and gestured Shikamaru to follow him a few steps to the side. She didn't need to hear this. "I got there too late." He sounded defeated. Shikamaru took a long breath and let it out slowly, he had expected this. He then nodded for Naruto to continue.

"By the time I got there they had already left. Several men broke in and killed Shou." Naruto gritted his teeth, a furious llok on his face. "They _made_ Niwa watch as they sliced him open. She stood no chance at stopping them."

"But how did she survive?" Shikamaru asked. "I'm assuming you got there in time to save her?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, for some reason they just left her there. Left her in a pool of Shou's blood. I got there a while after they left. She thought that I was one of them back to finish the job when I broke in."

Naruto mumbled something under his breath that Shikamaru couldn't hear. "What was that?" He asked.

Naruto looked up, a little surprised, like he didn't realize that he said it out loud. "She tried to save him, Shikamaru."

"Well of course she did-"

"No." Naruto interrupted him. "Shou was dead without a doubt dead when they left… and she still tried to save him. I saw the fresh bandages, she tried to save him even though she _knew_ he was dead."

Shikamaru's face darkened a little as he turned his head slightly to stop himself from letting the tears form in his eyes. All he could think about was the same thing happening to Temari. He cleared his throat after a few seconds and composed himself.

"Poor girl." He muttered under his breath. "I don't even know what to say."

"I don't know how people do it," Naruto mumbled softly. "I don't know how they manage to help people after something like this."

"I know." Shikamaru agreed before turning back to business again. "What about Shou?"

Naruto gave a pained look as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small scroll, showing it to Shikamaru. "...I- I couldn't just leave his body there. Not- not after what they did to it. And I couldn't leave Niwa there either, I didn't know why they didn't kill her but I wasn't about to leave her in the same room her boyfriend was murdered."

It sounded to Shikamaru that Naruto was asking him to challenge his decision. Like he wouldn't agree with it. He gave his friend a reassuring look and placed one hand on the scroll and the other on his shoulder.

"I would've down the same thing in your position, Naruto." He said before gripping onto the scroll a little harder. "And don't worry, when this is all over we'll make sure Shou gets a proper burial."

Naruto returned the look and slipped the scroll back into his pocket. After letting out a few breaths he and Shikamaru wordless walked back to the group to deliver the news.

Niwa was now sitting on the grass, the blanket around her shoulders as Sakura and Ino sat next to her, trying their best to comfort the girl. Temari and Sai were on lookout duty and walked back to the group when they saw Naruto and Shikamaru go back to the group.

"Is she okay?" Naruto asked Sakura about Niwa.

The pinkette nodded and took her hand off of Niwa's shoulder. "She's physically fine, only a few bumps and bruises but she'll be fine."

Both Naruto and Shikamaru nodded. Shikamaru hesitated for a second about speaking in front of Niwa but dismissed it. Unfortunately for her she was now involved in this, and in order to keep her safe they had to keep her with them. The Nara cleared his throat and looked to his friends with a serious expression.

"I'm sure that you're all aware…," He started slowly. "But as of now we're going off mission. We can't rely on outside help and must take down Morinosuke and the ring ourselves." He turned to Naruto and noticed his furious expression.

"By force if we have to." He said to his blond friend. "As mission leader I hereby grant you permission to enter combat and use deadly force _if need be_."

Naruto punched one hand into his open fist with a loud 'thud'. His angry expression replaced by a vengeful one. "Finally, time to crack some heads." His eyes narrowed. "But I get first shot at Morinosuke."

Shikamaru noted Temari's worried expression but disregarded it, he trusted Naruto but gave him a reminder anyway. "Fine. But we need him _alive_ , understood?"

Naruto let out a disturbingly dark chuckle. "Oh, I can do alive. Maybe not in one piece, conscious and recognizable… but I can do alive."

Shikamaru smirked. "Just tell the Kage that I tried to stop you."

Naruto gave him a confused look. "But you couldn't…"

"Exactly." Shikamaru said matter of factly. "So if we return Morinosuke in less that perfect condition it's no fault of any of ours. And the Kage will of course go with whatever you say."

Naruto looked at his friend and after a second it clicked. He grinned "Oh you sneaky genius. I'd never think you'd _let_ me beat the crap out of someone."

"Oh, I'd never _let_ you." Shikamaru said, feigning ignorance. "I just couldn't stop you if you were to, in theory, beat that bastard within an inch on his life for… interrogation purposes."

"Interrogation purposes?" He almost laughed. "I like your idea of interrogation."

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **I wouldn't want to be Morinosuke right now, what about you guys? Yeah, Morinosuke has** _ **no**_ **idea who he's pissed off.**

 **Thanks again for reading and sorry that it's a day late. Remember to leave a Review, Follow and Favorite both me and this story.**

 **Also I just made a Twi tter yesterday so follow me on there. I have no idea how to use it but hopefully this'll be a better way for me to be able to put out announcements and info.**

 **One word:** HephaestusBuil1

 **Until next time, this has been Hephaestus.**


	27. Ch27: Time To Storm The Resort

Chapter 27: Time To Storm The Resort

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey everyone! A little late but what else would you expect from me, right? You know how I've been saying for the past almost three months that I've been filling in at work and pulling double hours? Well, just two weeks ago my boss came back and I was able to go back to my regular hours, and then, because the universe hates me, the head honchos pulled my co-worker and out him in another building, so now I'm back in the same boat as before! I had three days of my regular schedule! Three days!**

 **Anyway, as I said last chapter the story is wrapping up soon, as you'll be able to tell in this one. But don't worry, after I wrap up here(and have a little break to live life and work on other things) I'll be working on chapter 2 of 'My Hero'.**

 **I have a Twi tter now, so go follow me on there. I'm still getting used to it so if I'm not doing something right let me know, thanks.**

 **My name is HephaestusBuilds, same as on here, follow me HephaestusBuil1**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter and a brief fyi, Naruto may be a bit ooc towards the end but he's just really pissed. We don't get enough pissed Naruto, in my opinion.**

* * *

Chapter 27: Time To Storm The Resort

 **Note:**

"Normal conversation/Narration"

'Thoughts'

' _Inner Sakura and thoughts'_

" _Mind Jutsus"_

" _ **Kurama text"**_

 **(With Everyone)**

"Is the scroll ready?" Naruto asked as Shikamaru rolled up the previously mentioned scroll. After escaping into the woods and bringing Niwa with them, the small group of ninja sat down and tried to figure out the best way to explain to the Hokage and the Feudal Lords that they were going off-mission and against orders. For their sakes, everyone was hoping that Shikamaru, the one who wrote the message, was able to phrase it in a way that didn't get them in trouble once they got back.

"Well, ready or not, I sealed it." Shikamaru muttered before turning to the relatively small toad that Naruto summoned. The toad was slightly too large to sit on a human shoulder and colored in a brilliant blue. The only part of its body that was different were two black mask-like marking on its face. The toad also sported a pair of goggles around its neck and a scroll container on its back. It looked up to Naruto expectantly.

Shikamaru held out the small scroll to the toad to take but the toad didn't make any move to take it. He just kept looking up to Naruto like he was waiting for him to do something.

The Nara turned to Naruto and gave him a questioning look. "...Uh, why isn't he taking the scroll?"

Naruto had the same confused look on his face until it seemed to hit him. He held his hand out to take the scroll from his friend. "Hand me the scroll."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Okay, I guess." Shikamaru said, handing his friend the scroll.

Scroll in hand, Naruto simply handed the scroll to the toad which took it quickly and placed it in the container on his back. He then looked up to Naruto again. Naruto nodded.

"Sorry, Gamabolt, forgot about that. Now, take that scroll and deliver it as fast as you can to the Hokage in the Hidden Leaf village. Priority alpha, let nothing stop you. Understood?" He asked the bright blue toad.

The toad simply nodded once before stretching his long legs a few times.

"Good." Naruto nodded. "Now go."

As soon as the word left his lips, the toad put its goggles on and within the second it darted off, leaving a bright blue streak in its wake.

The group of ninja, except Naruto, all looked in the direction that the toad rushed off to. They all looked like they saw a ghost. Naruto gave them a questioning look.

"What?" He asked.

"I didn't even see that thing move." Temari said, still looking at the now faded trail of the toad. "I blinked and it was just… gone."

"Which toad was that?" Sakura, who was the most familiar with Naruto's summons, asked. "I don't think I've seen him before."

"Huh, oh, that was Gamabolt." Naruto answered. "He's Mount Myōboku's fastest toad. He's reserved for emergencies only."

" _Gamabolt_?" Ino asked. "Why do all of your toads have weird names? I mean, Gamabunta, Gamaken, Gamakichi, now Gamabolt?"

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno, I just figured that it was a traditional part of names on Mount Myōboku. I know Gamabolt is called that because it's said that he's as fast as a bolt of lightning."

"I can see why." Ino said. "That speed put even Lee and Guy-Sensei to shame."

"Don't tell those two that, though." Sakura said with a slight chuckle. "You _know_ how they are, they'll challenge poor Gamabolt to a race for training."

"But why didn't he take the scroll from me?" Shikamaru asked suddenly. "Why did it have to be from you?"

"Huh?" Naruto turned back to his friend. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I forgot, since the toads have a contract with me they can't except scrolls or instructions from other people."

"Really?" Sai asked. "You are the only one?"

Naruto rubbed his chin in a thinking pose. "Well, sometimes there's exceptions, Granny can request them and ask them to deliver scrolls even though she can't summon them. But that's most likely because most of them are familiar with her because of Pervy Sage. Since none of you guys have ever met Gamabolt I guess he doesn't trust you guys enough yet."

Shikamaru nodded, satisfied with the answer. "I figured it had to be something like that."

Naruto looked like he was going to open his mouth when a soft voice spoke up, causing the group of ninja to look behind them.

"...Uh, excuse me?" It was Niwa, she had been instructed by Sakura to get some rest, which she gladly agreed to. She looked like she just had woken up.

"Yeah, Niwa?" Naruto asked turning around to look at the young woman. "You need something? I have some food if you're hungry."

She shook her head softly. "N-no, Yuuto, I'm not hungry. But thank you." She seemed defeated and worried, but no surprise really, after what she went through she could be considered lucky.

"Niwa?" Naruto asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

The young woman looked back up to him before giving everyone around them nervous looks. Looks like she didn't trust the others yet. But Naruto understood and didn't let it bother him. He took a few steps and stopped beside her, giving her a warm smile.

"Niwa, it's okay. You can trust them." He gestured to Shikamaru and the others. "I'd trust them with my life. We're here to help you. So if you need something, just ask, okay?"

She seemed to hesitate and think it over but she eventually nodded her head. "...I- I was just wondering what we were going to do next."

Naruto sent a look to Shikamaru that read 'what do I say?'. He nodded and took a step forwards.

"What do you mean, Niwa?" Shikamaru asked.

The young woman glanced at Naruto before addressing Shikamaru. "I mean we're hiding from Mr. Morinosuke in the forest. We can't stay out here forever. W-what are we going to do now?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Well, right now we're focused on keeping you safe and out of the way. We can't afford to endanger any more civilians." He said the last part as an afterthought, looking right at Niwa. "Once we're confident that we have a good spot to hide you, the rest of us are going to storm the resort and arrest Morinosuke."

Niwa had a worried look on her face. "But how are the six of you going to do that?" She asked. "He has an army of men at the resort. There's _no way_ you can take them all out on your own!"

Shikamaru eyed the others as he thought over how much he should tell her before looking back to her. "We haven't been completely honest, Niwa." He said. "As you've probably noticed we aren't exactly who we've said we are."

Niwa nodded, she figured that much. "So… so who _are_ you all?" She asked. "You aren't just normal guests at the resort, and you aren't Yakuza, so who are you?"

"We're the people sent to take down Morinosuke," Naruto cut in. "That's all we can tell you, sorry."

"Yes," Shikamaru nodded. "It would be for the best that you don't know who we are."

"Why?" Niwa asked.

This time Sai cut in, his voice was low and threatening as he glared darkly at the girl. "Because then we'd have to kill you…"

The group was silent for a few seconds as Niwa's face morphed into fear, a second later the group heard a loud slap. They looked over to wheere Sai was rubbing his shoulder as if he had been hit.

"Now is not the time for jokes, Touma!" Ino berated him, pointing to Niwa. "You're scaring the poor girl even more!"

Sai had the dignity to looked apologetic as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to alleviate some tension."

Ino's scowl remained as she glared at Sia for a few seconds before droping and letting out a sigh. "When are you going to learn when it's appropriate to make jokes and when it's not?" She grumbled.

Niwa looked to Naruto, still clearly terrified. "Y-you're not going to k-kill me, are you?" She asked, her voice trembling.

Naruto took a step closer, shaking his head and waving his hands. "No no no, don't worry. S-Touma was just… being Touma. We aren't going to hurt you."

Niwa let out a heavy breath of relief. "...Good."

"Don't worry, Niwa." Shikamaru said. "When we go after Morinosuke and his men we'll leave someone with you as protection while we're gone. We won't let Morinosuke hurt you again."

Niwa seemed to have trouble holding her composure, after a few seconds she faced Shikamaru. "Thank you, for everything."

oooOooo

 **(Later)**

After heading out a little further into the forest the small group found a decent place to set up temporary camp. They had no supplies or gear so 'set up' more or less consisted of clearing a small area to sit and constructing a small lean-to that was going to serve as their only shelter until they were able to return to the Hidden Leaf Village. Also, with no way to get their luggage, the small group were still all in their various forms of sleepwear, Shikamaru was the worst off out of the entire group since to his dismay, and Temari's delight, he was only clad in a pair of shorts. Which meant that the trek through the forest was painful since he had no shoes and his lower legs and upper body kept getting scratched as he pushed his way through the dense vegetation. The others weren't fairing much better though, the girls were able to save their dignity by being fortunate enough to have fled in night shirts and shorts while Sai managed to grab a shirt and his shoes. Lucky bastard. Shikamaru was just about to ask where Naruto and Sakura went off to when he heard the bushes next to their 'camp' rumble and a second later a fully clothed Naruto and Sakura walked out.

Shikamaru and the others looked at the pair with confused and jealous faces. Shikamaru was the first to speak. ""Where- where did you two get _those_?" He demanded, pointing to their clothes.

The two looked startled at the sudden commotion, they just looked at each other confused and shrugged. "Get what?" Naruto asked.

"Those clothes!" Ino clarified. Her hands on her hips as she stood barefoot in a loose fitting t-shirt and a slightly too big pair of shorts that threatened to fall down at any time. "Don't tell me you two went back for them and didn't get me any!"

"Huh? Oh _these_?" Sakura seemed to finally get what they were talking about. She looked down to her normal mission attire with a field medic kit on her back. "Naruto stored them for me. He always keeps a few extra changes of clothes and equipment for me in his storage scroll when we're on missions."

"Yeah," Naruto held up a small storage scroll. "I have just about anything you'd need in here. Well, just about everything but the kitchen sink. I have tents, sleeping rolls, rood, water, all the good stuff."

Shikamaru and the others just glared at the two oblivious ninja, a tick mark appeared on Ino's forehead. "And you didn't think to store any clothes for _us_?" She demanded.

A nervous look appeared on Naruto's face as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, uh… I've never thought too. I mean, Sakura-chan and I have been on a team for years so I didn't think to store any for you guys for the mission."

Shikamaru gestured to the lean-to. "And where were you two and your storage scroll when we set this up?"

Naruto let out a nervous chuckle and sweat dropped. "Uh… changing?"

Ino gave them a knowing look like she didn't believe them. "Oh _right_. Like we'd believe that you two were gone so long to _change_."

Both Naruto and Sakura's faces went a bright crimson as they both tried to stutter out their defense. "No no no no no! We- we weren't-!" Sakura tried to spit out.

"We were really changing, honest!" Naruto tried to convince them.

"Sure you were-" Ino started but was interrupted by a sudden voice coming through the bushes, the same direction that Naruto and Sakura just came from.

"Is everything alright?" Niwa asked cautiously as she stepped through the foliage and into the little camp. She was dressed in what appeared to be a Naruto and Sakura's mission attire.

"I heard yelling, did something happen?" She asked innocently, unaware as to why the undressed members of the group were glaring at her angrily.

"Why did you give _her_ clothes and not us?" Ino demanded.

Naruto, Sakura and Niwa all looked between each other, confused. "Uh… because she asked?" Naruto said after a few seconds. "Do uh, you guys want some us well? All you had to do was ask..."

So after a little more apologizing from Naruto, each member of the group was given a set of clothes so that they weren't in an assortment of sleepwear. Something, that Naruto pointed out, probably wouldn't strike fear into their opponents. After changing and finishing setting up camp, the ninja were ready to storm the resort. So the group, Niwa included, formed a circle to go over the plan.

"Is everyone ready?" Shikamaru asked the group. He received a 'yes' or a nod from the group. "Good. Now, here's the plan, Yuuto, Yui, Touma, Ichika and I will infiltrate the resort and split into two teams. Yuuto and I will arrest Morinosuke while the rest of you will be on crowd control. We have to assume that most of the guests are innocent until we can prove otherwise. So you three will be charged with taking them all into custody until we can figure out who is guilty."

"What about me?" Niwa asked. "Are you all just going to leave me here all by myself?"

Shikamaru shook his head and gestured to Sakura with his head. "No, Hana will stay behind with you while we go to the resort." He then turned to face Sakura.

"Sorry about leaving you behind, Hana, but Niwa still isn't in the best shape and as our medic it's logical to leave you behind as a reserve. As unlikely as it is, if something were to happen to us, you would still be free to escape and warn Kakashi-sensei." Sakura nodded but Niwa seemed to get a little worried.

"But that'd never happen," Ino said, reassuring the young woman. "No way these guys could handle N- I mean, our secret weapon. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"That's right," Naruto stepped in. "It's only a precaution to leave you behind with a bodyguard. And believe me, you couldn't find a better one than her. You'll be fine."

"Okay… just- just be careful, alright?" Niwa said before her tone turned darker. "And be sure to kick Mr. Morinosuke's ass for what he did to Shou-kun, okay?"

Naruto chuckled a little before pointing his thumb to himself. "Oh don't worry, you can leave that to me. I'll show that old bastard exactly _who_ he's dealing with."

Shikamaru nodded and got the groups attention. "If that's everything then let's move. Most of the guests should still be in their villas so it should be easy to herd them together. Everyone be careful." He took a second to look at each of his friends before giving a nod.

"Let's go."

 **(Later at the resort with Naruto and Shikamaru)**

Naruto and Shikamaru easily made their way to Morinosuke's building after separating from the others. So far they hadn't been spotted yet but as the number of guards increased around the resort, the likelihood of being spotted increased. The two hid in the bushes next to the building as Naruto and Kurama tried to get a sense of how many men were inside the building with their sensory powers.

"How many are there?"

"Kurama says several dozen at least in the building but there are even more underground in the series of tunnels." Naruto answered.

"So nothing to worry about then?" Shikamaru asked nonchalantly.

"Nah," Naruto shrugged, he seemed to be pouting a little. "Honestly I was hoping for a good fight but I guess we can't expect much from regular guards and hitmen. I bet none of these guys even know a single jutsu."

Shikamaru shrugged as well. "But then that also means we can wrap this up quickly and go home. Well, let's get it over with, shall we?"

He made a move to jump but he stopped himself suddenly and it seemed to Naruto like he was trying to say something. He didn't know if this was the best time but he had the chance to ask Naruto in private now so it was his best opportunity before everything went down. "...Hey, Naruto?"

"Uh yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Naruto said with a laugh. He just received a glare from his friend. Naruto took a look at his friend, he could tell that this was serious so he mirrored the serious expression. "Yeah, of course. Whatever you need. You know that."

"...Is it a possibility for either you or Kakashi-sensei to grant Tem residence in the village?"

Now this wasn't what Naruto was expecting. He was a little confused at first but after he noticed his friends serious look it clicked. "Oh! _That's_ why!" His serious face morphed to a happy one. "You guys that serious?"

Shikamaru only nodded as he turned his head the other direction, embarrassed and his face a little red. "That's great!" Naruto said in a hushed but still excited manner. They were still hiding after all. "Of course I will, Shikamaru. If Kakashi-sensei doesn't first, that is. But I don't see him saying no."

"Thanks, Naruto. And yeah, Tem and I are planning on her moving into my clan compound."

"Ooooh!" Naruto had the slightest hint of mischief in his voice. "Are you guys getting like _serious_ serious? Will I have to dust off the tux I'm going to have to rent?"

Shikamaru's face went crimson and he had to keep himself quiet as they hid in the bushes. "Wha- no no no no no! We're not- I mean, we haven't even- it's way too early to start thinking about-" Naruto cut him off by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm just messing with you, man. What are best friends for if for not embarrassing you about your love life?" He said with a hushed chuckle.

"Troublesome bastard." Shikamaru muttered just loud enough for his friend to hear. "But speaking about love lifes, how about you and a certain team member?"

Naruto didn't blush as much as his friend but he still got a little embarrassed. "We uh, we're good. We finally sat down and uh, ... _talked_ about it. I have to admit, you guys were right. She liked me more than I thought."

Shikamaru lightly punched his shoulder. "See? We _told_ you. You need to have better trust in your friends. We've been telling you that forever. But _no~o_ , you wouldn't believe us."

Naruto let out a few chuckles. "I know, I was just, well… you know. Doubtful."

"Well," Shikamaru pulled out a set of kunai that Naruto gave him. "I'm all for our little heart to hearts but are you ready?"

"Yup, how do you wanna do it?" Naruto asked. "Sneak in through the back or bust down the front door?"

Shikamaru seemed to think about it for a second, rubbing his chin in fake thought. "Well I'm partial to the front door method, how about you?"

Naruto smiled and stood, on fist in his other palm. Kurama's chakra could be seen seeping from his skin and forming around his body. "Way ahead of you."

Less than two seconds later the heavy double doors to Morinosuke's building exploded inward with a loud 'boom'. The dozen or so men behind the door all jumped in surprise while two managed to get hit with the metal doors. They'd be down for the count.

"What the- what's going on?!" A guard yelled.

"What was that?" Another asked.

"Tell Mr. Morinosuke we've- aaaahhhh!" The man was unable to finish because he was looking at his hand that once was connected to his arm lay on the floor.

In a flurry of moves and roars, most of whom were from Kurama but a few were from Naruto, the man known as the Kitsune Kage dove into the nearest group of men. The Kurama/Naruto combo was able to quickly and rather easily clear the entryway of all the men. After a few seconds Naruto called for Shikamaru to enter.

Shikamaru looked around the room at the number of men all on the floor- all except for one who seemed to be somehow embedded in the wall- all either holding their wounds in pain or unconscious, or both. One had lost his hand that still held a sword while a few were laying in puddles of fluid that Shikamaru really hoped wasn't a combination of urine and throw up, but from the smell of it he was sure. Walking up to stand next to his friend he had to step over a few bodies who were trembling uselessly.

He let out a low whistle. "...Damn, man." Shikamaru said, taken back from the brutality his usually held back friend unleashed. "I know you're pissed at Morinosuke but still, these men are just hired thugs. No need to be so harsh."

"They're not all so innocent." Naruto pointed to a man in the corner whose head was, hopefully, at least, in the floor. "He's the one that killed Shou."

Shikamaru raised his brow at that. "How do you know that?" He asked.

Naruto pointed to his nose. "The nose knows." He sniffed. "I can smell Shou's blood on him. To me it's like he's holding a sign that says 'I'm the bastard that killed Shou, kick my ass'.

Shikamaru nodded. "Oh, then no problem then." He gestured to the closed door ahead of them lazily. Gesturing for Naruto to go through them. "After you, then."

oooOooo

"What the hell is going on out there?!" Morinosuke demanded from his place sitting behind his desk. He was surrounded by a dozen men all armed to the teeth, but said men were also shaking in their boots after hearing what sounded like a warzone coming from downstairs. Something that was making Morinosuke furious. He had paid these men a literal fortune to kill the supposed Yakuza member and his allies but now after they failed to bring him back a single body they go and get themselves beaten? He had no doubt that it was this 'Yuuto Ishihara' who was currently attacking his men. And it was this same man who was currently sweeping the floor with them. How useless these men are.

"I-I don't k-know, sir." A guard next to his desk stuttered out. "We appear to be... under attack."

Baaam! Morinosuke slammed his hand down on his desk. "That is painfully obvious, you useless piece of shit! How many are attacking?"

The guard got even more nervous. "...Uh, only... one, sir."

"ONE!" Morinosuke roared. "You're men are losing to one man?! I paid you enough for your own country to kill six people and you are losing to one?!"

The guard swallowed. "Y-yes, sir."

"He's just one man!" Morinosuke roared. "How difficult is it to kill one man? Have your men go down there and attack him all at once! I don't care if you have to level the building to do it. Just kill him!" He screamed the end of his order.

The guard next to his desk along with the other men all stood silently as they looked at each other. "Uh sir?" It was the head guard. "Is it too late to return the money and lea-gaaaahhh!"

Without warning Morinosuke pulled a knife out from his haori and stabbed the man in the chest, killing him before he hit the ground. The remaining men all gasped and backed away a few steps. Their hands on their swords just in case.

Morinosuke stood to his full height, looming over the men and glared at them, daring them to try to attack him. "You will find that I'm not a forgiving man…" His voice low and threatening as the sounds of more men on the lower floors screaming could be heard. "If you fear that boy more than me than you're clearly mistaken, for I am not as merciful as he is."

"Now get down there and kill him!" He roared, pointing to the door. "Their weight in gold to the man who brings me his head!"

With a series of 'yes sirs' the remaining dozen or so men all espaceped through the door as quickly as possible to get away from their psychotic client. As the last man left his office the door was closed and Morinosuke stood waiting at his desk. His hands currently turning the dials of a heavy safe behind his desk.

With a loud metallic 'creak' the safe door opened and he pulled what looked like some sort of futuristic weapon. "Those fools," With a loud 'click' he popped in a cartridge into the weapon. "If you want someone killed right you better do it yourself."

Mano Morinosuke stood still, his weapon pointed at the door. His development team assured him that one shot from this weapon could kill any man, be it a normal man or a shinobi of the Elemental Nations. Whoever this 'Yuuto Ishihara' was he was no match for his modern weaponry.

The last of the yells of his men stopped and it quickly became eerily quiet outside. Morinosuke held his weapon firmly pointed at the door. Suddenly heavy footsteps could be heard coming from down the hall. Each one sounding like it came from an elephant, not a man, causing the building to shake from each step Morinosuke could hear the floor creaking in stress under the steps. Just _who_ was this man?

BOOOOOMMMM!

The wooden floor around his feet suddenly exploded and Morinosuke found himself being grabbed by his ankles and pulled through the floor. He landed heavily on the floor, his leg was definitely broken but that didn't stop him from trying to get to his feet and point his weapon at Naruto.

"You damn-" But Naruto cut him off by dealing a powerful blow to his face while simultaneously taking the weapon from his hand and throwing it to the floor.

Morinosuke was back on the floor spitting up blood as he glared at Naruto. "...Who the- who the hell _are_ you?" When he didn't get a response he grit his teeth and tried his best to stand again, it hurt like hell but he managed to force himself to stand.

"If you… think I'm going to- going to surrender, than you-"

"I don't want you to surrender." Naruto suddenly spoke. His eyes narrowed and Morinosuke barely noticed that his ally behind him turned around to look the other direction. Why did he- Morinosuke's attention was suddenly brought back to Naruto when the blond sent another fist into his face then his other into his stomach this time.

"Gaaahhh!" The old man let out as blood poured out of his mouth as he hunched over in pain.

"I don't want you to surrender." Naruto repeated himself. "Because then I'd have to stop kicking your ass." He sent Morinosuke to the ground with a powerful kick to the ribs, no doubt breaking a few.

Naruto, with Kyuubi enhanced strength, kicked, punched and threw Morinosuke through the room until the old man was barely conscious, his face was swollen and from the sound of his breathing Kurama told Naruto that one of his ribs pierced his lungs. After one last heavy blow, Morinosuke was thrown into the far wall. He watched in fear as Naruto slowly walked up to him. His shoulders square and his eyes red with rage. He knelt down to the older man and grabbed his face with one hand. He opened his mouth and spoke in a slow, threatening voice.

"Luckily for you you'd die if I kept this up. And I have orders to bring you back alive." The old man let out a breath and relaxed his body but Naruto noticed and leaned in closer. "I have half a mind to keep you alive just to keep beating you… but I made a promise to myself to not act like the demon people thought I was."

Morinosuke's eyes narrowed at the blond before spitting up some blood onto his clothes. "I'm not… afraid of you… boy."

A low growl escaped Naruto's lips as he raised his fist. "This is for _Shou_ , you bastard." His voice was low and furious. Then his fist flew and connected with the other man's head, slamming it back into the wall behind him. Morinosuke's body slumped unceremoniously to the floor and it was silent for several seconds until Shikamaru turned back around and walked up to Naruto and looked down to the old man.

"Is he dead?" He asked softly.

Naruto stood next to his friend and paused, listening for a heartbeat. He made a 'tsking' sound. "Unfortunately not, he is slowly bleeding out though."

Shikamaru nodded, placing a hand on his friends shoulder. "Thanks for not killing him, Naruto. I know how hard it is for you to forgive people sometimes after they do something like he did."

Naruto took in a deep breath through his nose before letting it out. "It's not that I have a hard time forgiving them, you don't have to forgive them. You just have to choose to stop letting it get to you." They were silent for a few seconds as Naruto pulled out a small storage scroll to store Morinosuke for the moment.

"I could have killed him." His voice was low as be knelt down and activated the scroll, trapping Morinosuke in it. "And I wanted to, for Shou, for Niwa, for all of his own men he killed, but it's not my place. I'll only start another chain of hatred if I take his life." He stood back up and slipped the scroll in his weapon pouch.

Shikamaru smirked and lightly punched his friend on the shoulder. "Since when did my knucklehead of a friend get so wise?" He asked in a kidding manner.

"Since the day I became serious about becoming Hokage." He joked back then pointed to his weapon pouch on his leg. His tone becoming serious again. "But we really should get to Sakura-chan and the others, I was serious when I said he was bleeding out. She'll need to stabilize him before we leave for the Leaf."

Shikamaru gestured towards the door behind them. "Then let's go. I need to see how the others are doing with gathering up all the guests. We still have that to worry about, don't forget."

"Damn," Naruto hit his head as they made their way towards the exit. "I forgot that we'll have to wait for backup to deal with the other guests before we can head back."

"I told Kakashi-sensei that as soon as they get here we'll be heading back towards the Leaf. They should be here within a day or two, as long as your toad got the scroll there as fast as you said he could."

"Oh, Gamabolt delivered the scroll on time, don't worry about him." Naruto smiled as he looked around the resort as they made their way lazily to the others. "If I'm honest I'm gonna miss being at this resort. It did have its perks."

Shikamaru chuckled. "That it did, Naruto. I could get used to the free drinks and five-star meals myself."

"Same here. Though the food didn't compare to Ichiraku of course-" Shikamaru elbowed his friend in the arm, cutting him off.

"Come on, even _you_ have to admit that the food here was better than your _oh so precious ramen_."

Naruto looked like he was shocked that Shikamaru would even suggest such a thing, like he couldn't fathom ever eating anything better than ramen. "...You- you can't just- ramen is amazing!" Naruto muttered. "How can you say with a straight face that _any_ food is better than Ichiraku ramen?"

The Nara let out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Troublesome." He muttered under his breath.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "Ramen is love, ramen is life!"

Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks and looked in awe at his friend. "How can Sakura stand you?" He asked jokingly.

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno, probably the same way Temari manages to stand _you_."

The two friends were silent for a few seconds before Shikamaru cracked a smile and chuckled, walking up to his friend to continue their way back. "Touché."

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Thanks for reading. Be sure to leave a REVIEW and follow and favorite both me and this story. If you like this story then you might like some others ones that might/will be coming out. Be sure to check out my next Naruto story, 'My Hero: A Sakura and Naruto Story' if you haven't. It'll be my next full length project.**

 **Also remember I have a Twi tter, follow me on there to get updates. HephaestusBuil1**

 **Until next time, this has been Hephaestus**


	28. Quick Little Update - 31118

Hey everyone,

Hephaestus here to let you all know really quick that I'm not dead. I'm sorry about the literal month long hiatus and I'm now getting my butt into gear and working on the final chapter of A Mission. Won't go into specifics here but life kept happening and when I sat down to write I would just stare at the screen until I eventually went to another page. I had no idea how to start the ending. I've never wrapped up a story like this before so it's a little daunting.

But as you read this I'll be writing and I'll try and get the chapter out asap. No deadline yet but I promise I'll get it done.

So here's what I need you guys to do, I need you guys to spam me as much a humanly possible and make me finish it. If a good friend of mine, Black Hunter, hadn't asked me about it today I probably wouldn't be working on it today. So a huge thanks to him for keeping me on track.

Leave Reviews, PM me or follow me on Twitter and spam me on there, throw rocks at my window, smoke signals, just do something to MAKE me do it. Now that I've backed myself into a corner I can't just do nothing. ...Yay… Maybe I'll stay up late and try to get it out tomorrow… Can't pull all-nighters with work anymore… No idea how I'll do it but I'll do it.

Thanks for all your support! Hopefully I'll see you all soon!


	29. General Update

Hey everyone, just a (hopefully) quick update here,

I've been gone since, what, January? Jeez, I never meant to be gone this long, I promise. As you can probably guess from this update that I am now planning to continue writing again. I will be writing this general update for ALL of my stories so that is why it contains info for stories other than this one.

I have just updated my profile so if you want to see some of my ideas/plans go over there and check it out. I also go over some other stuff as well. Please give it a read.

* * *

A few answers to some questions:

Q: Am I done writing for good?

A: No, of course not. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. Writing/reading/creating stories are too big a part of my life to quit.

Q: Will 'Animorphs' be continuing?

A: Yes, eventually. I want to finish 'A Mission Of Love' first.

Q: Where is the finale of 'A Mission Of Love'?

A: It is coming asap. I stopped it because I honestly didn't think I could give it a proper ending. I will be working hard to finish it.

Q: What will the new Upload Schedule be?

A: I don't have one set in stone yet, since I'm trying to get back into the swing of things but I do want to get out at least one chapter a month. But that may increase when I get into the rhythm again.

Q: What have I been doing since January?

A: Many things, mostly work but I did read the entire Harry Potter series and the first two Percy Jackson series. I won't be doing any stories for HP, sorry, but I will definitely be doing a Percy Jackson story/one shot asap. I also bought a new car, jeez, those things are expensive.

Q: When will we expect the new chapters/stories to be coming out?

A: I have no set day yet, but I do want to get these things starting by the end of August. I know that is a month away, but that's because my work basically works in seasons, Off seasons and On seasons. Right now we're at the end of the Off season but it will be starting up again in mid August. I do work year round, btw, my schedule just shifts twelve hours each season. Also my boss has been of the last two weeks so it's been hectic at work. We have a ton of work to do to get ready for the On season.

Q: May we still be extremely mad at you for going away for six months?

A: Of course, you guys are my readers and I had no right to do that to you guys. So thanks to all of you guys, especially my beta, for keeping on my butt and making me realise how stupid it was to wait so long to come back.

So that wraps up some common questions, if you guys have any, PLEASE, either leave a Review with it or PM me and I'll be sure to answer asap. Again, please check out my profile for more info and to check out some of my ideas for future stories. If you have any ideas please let me know.

Thanks you all so much for your undying support even though I don't always deserve it, you guys are the best. Have a great day and I'll see you guys as soon as I can.

Hephaestus


	30. Ch28: Finale

Chapter 28: Finale

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey, everyone! I'm FINALLY back, praise the gods. I've apologized several times already so let's just skip that and get into the information stuff so we can get into the story asap.**

 **Please go check out my profile if you haven't in awhile, vote in the poll and check out my ideas for future stories. I will be working on the new stories in conjunction with My Hero. Those new stories being a Young Justice and Percy Jackson story.**

 **I made a Twitter for my Profile and I want to use it to post updates and talk with my readers, so if you have a Twitter then please follow me HephaestusBuil1. I have like two followers right now so I don't really use it, but if more people follow me then I will.**

 **FanArt Wanted:**

 **I really want to have some custom fanart for 'My Hero: A Sakura and Naruto Story' done for the cover image. So if you're an artist PM me and we'll talk. I can't pay anyone but I can dedicate a one-shot or short story of your choice to you.**

 **With all of that stuff out of the way let's get into the Finale, shall we? I put a lot of time into it so I hope that you guys like it, I've never been so worried about putting up a chapter before. Let me know what you guys think at the end with a Review of you have the time.**

 **Hope you all enjoy, Hephaestus**

* * *

Chapter 28: Finale

 **(Naruto POV - About two weeks later)**

Morinosuke's trial went quickly, much to his displeasure. He tried to deny everything, of course, his involvement, the ring, Shou's death, everything. But once Ibiki, the Leaf's master interrogator and head of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force, got a hold of him, he soon started spilling all of his secrets. The trial itself only took a single day, but thanks to the several Feudal Lords who decided to sit in on and oversee the whole affair, the entire process lasted an entire week once it finally got started.

Life went back to normal for Naruto as soon as he got back to the village. And for him that meant the oh so dreaded paperwork. Thanks to the… method, of how Morinosuke was apprehended, the amount of paperwork and documents Naruto had to fill out, sign and read were staggering. What didn't help, is that he hadn't gotten a full night's rest once since he got back home. As Sakura couldn't spend the night over at his house without raising questions that he really didn't want to address at the moment, he was forced to spend his nights alone in bed. If he had to describe it in one word it would be 'lonesome'. It was driving him crazy! How he ever lived so long without her next to him at night, he'd never know. And thanks to the aforementioned mountain of paperwork that greeted him when they returned and the several Feudal Lords and high ranking officials in the village that he had to talk to and entertain, he had barely a minute of peace to just relax and breathe, let alone time to see his girlfriend.

But that wasn't the only reason for his current sour mood, Sakura had been acting a little strange as of late. She seemed, distant, whenever he approached her during one of his sporadic moments of freedom away from the office. He had the feeling that there was something that she wasn't telling him. He knew that it was bothering her but whenever he tried to talk to her he was either berated by an official or summoned by a Feudal Lord. He was starting to get irritated with the situation. Whatever it was, Naruto hoped that it would either blow over or she would tell him what was bothering her, he couldn't stand the silence anymore. Luckily he managed to get tonight off, so he planned to surprise her with a dinner date. Hopefully she would tell him whatever was bothering her then.

 **(Sakura POV - A week ago)**

It was a few days after Sakura and the others returned home, and in that time all of Sakura's focus and mind had been on _this_ moment. This moment, which she had been dreading since the morning after her night with Naruto; the moment she had to face her mentor. Nothing in her entire life, none of the missions she went on, all of the trials and fights, scared her as much as this inevitable conversation.

She let out a long held breath and walked into the clinic section of the Konoha hospital and went to the front desk. After a few minutes of conversation, explaining to the young nurse at the desk that no, she wasn't there for work, she in fact had the week off , and that yes, she would only see Lady Tsunade. Luckily for her, outrageous requests like that were acceptable because of her position in the hospital. Lady Tsunade _never_ saw patients in the clinic, especially walk-ins. She only handled the most serious of surgeries and life-threatening cases.

So a few minutes later Sakura sat waiting in the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room, waiting for Lady Tsunade to be summoned and walk in. Sakura was nervous, no, not nervous per say, but anxious more than anything. She hadn't told her parents yet, of course, Sakura knew that she'd get an hour long lecture from her mom while her dad would probably faint and then probably threaten to kill Naruto, not like he could, she added to herself as an afterthought, but otherwise she figured he'd be happy, her mom was another story. She hadn't told Naruto yet ether. She decided to get confirmation before she told anyone. She didn't want to get Naruto's hopes up for nothing.

Sakura watched the other patients being taken into their examination rooms by their nurses. As the few minutes turned into ten, and the ten turned into twenty, and twenty turned into thirty, Sakura turned down a few offers by the other nurses to take her into the examination room. Each time Sakura felt a little bad, one young nurse in particular, whom Sakura had overseen her training personally, came by every few minutes to offer and each time left with her smile a little lower. She was only trying to be nice and show her skills to her, Sakura knew that, but she wanted Tsunade and Tsunade alone to see her. Even Ino, whom Sakura trusted more than anything, wasn't Tsunade. Tsunade wouldn't make a mistake, she'd know for sure whether Sakura's worries were founded or not.

Twenty minutes later, after Sakura had started to consider going upstairs to talk to Tsunade personally in her office, Sakura was shaken from her thoughts when the door to the waiting room flung open violently and a very busty woman appeared in the door.

" _Who the hell_ thinks they're so important that they _demanded_ to see me personally?" She bellowed for the entire room to hear. "Do you have _any_ idea how busy I am running this hospital? I was in the middle of a _surgery_ and I received twenty some odd summons to come down here!" She glared around the room, her eyes ablaze and her hands sat on her hips dangerously. When no one in the room spoke up , Tsunade's face turned into a scowl and she raised her voice again.

"Well?!" She yelled. "Who _demanded_ that they see me?"

"I-I did, Lady Tsunade." Sakura's sudden soft voice from the side of the room threw Tsunade off her warpath. She turned to see her apprentice with a look of confusion that quickly turned into a warm smile as the busty woman registered who was speaking.

"Sakura!" Tsunade walked over to her pupil quickly, a large smile on her face, completely forgetting her earlier anger. When she reached the pinkette she pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "Well why didn't you say it was you, Sakura?"

From inside the large bosom of the retired Hokage came the struggled voice of her disciple. "...L-lady- Tsunade… can't-can't _breath!_ "

The well-endowed woman looked down to see the head of her student completely enveloped in her large breasts. She quickly pulled her disciple out to avoid her fainting from suffocation. Tsunade held Sakura out arms length with a smile on her face. The two were only able to see each others one or two times during the trial and only a few short moments since the pinkette got back. So excuse her if Tsunade was a little excited to see her apprentice after so long.

The older woman gave her student a questioning look. "You know that if you wanted to see me all you'd have to do is wait for me in my office, right? You _do_ have free reign of the hospital, remember?"

Sakura looked down, suddenly finding the tiled floor very interesting. "I-I know, Lady Tsunade, but I- well… uh-"

Tsunade cocked her head slightly, an amused smile on her face. "Well spit it out, Sakura. You know that you don't have to be worried with me, what's the problem?" The busty woman then looked like a thought hit her as she started patting her pockets and checking the clipboard in her hands. "Ah crap, in my rush to get down here I didn't grab the message. What was it you said you needed again?"

Sakura's face went a slight pink. "W-well I uh, n-need a c-check up." She managed to stutter out. Tsunade's face went a little skeptical.

"A check up?" She repeated. "Sakura, we have more than a dozen nurses here that are more than capable for that. You know how busy I am, I can't waste my time taking care of stuffy noses and boo boos, that's why I never come down to the clinic. I only handle the worst cases, you know that."

"I know that, Lady Tsunade… but, it's important and… _personal_." She looked up to her mentor, her eyes pleading. "Please, it _has_ to be you."

Tsunade noticed the look on her student's face and gave in. She was always soft for her pseudo-daughter. "Fine, how can I say no to that? Okay," She gestured to the nearest exam room. "What can I help you with, huh?"

Sakra shook her head. "Can we, um, wait 'till we get in the room?"

Tsunade nodded her head and the two entered the small exam room before closing the door. The remaining patients and nurses in the waiting room all stared at the spot of all the commotion was for a second before turning back to whatever they were doing before they were interrupted by the sudden commotion. The room went back to near silence and peace for exactly five seconds before a loud, bellowing voice broke the calm air of the waiting room.

"Wwwhhhhaaaaattttt!" It was very clearly Tsunade's voice. All of the nurses winced at the sound. They all felt a combined relief that it wasn't them in there.

 **(In the Exam room)**

"Wha-what? Y-you and N-Naruto… Naruto and you… Oh I'm gonna, I'm gonna…" Tsunade was pacing the small room, her hands waving in the air uselessly before they came together to form a circle and started shaking. "I'm gonna strangle that gaki! Who does he think he- I mean, knowing who his _mentor_ was, I should've, but this, this just… Oooh! I warned him, oh so many times, that if he ever even _thought_ about it, I'd personally cut off his-"

"Don't blame Naruto, m'Lady. It wasn't his fault." Sakura cut in. The older woman turned to her disciple and stared as she sat patiently on the exam bed, her fingers twiddling nervously.

"Of course it's the gaki's fault. You can't exactly get pregnant by yourself." Suddenly the older woman was inches away from the pinkette, her eyes narrow. "He didn't pressure you into it, did he? Because if he did I'm going to send him to meet Jiraiya sooner than he-"

"N-no, he didn't pressure me, Lady Tsunade. I uh, was the one who… uh, suggested it…" Sakura immediately winced as a precaution, waiting for the lecture, but when nothing came after a few seconds she opened her eyes and looked at her mentor. Tsunade's eyes were still narrowed but after a few seconds they softened and she backed off.

"Well… that's okay then." Her voice went back to normal and she moved the rolling chair from the desk and next to the exam bed before sitting down in it. She pulled out a chart and started scribbling on it before peering over it as she wrote.

"I thought I taught you to be careful, Sakura." She sounded a little disappointed. "I mean I even gave you protection, what, did you two run out or something?" She looked back down to the chart after she finished.

Sakura's face went a dark shade of pink. "W-what, no! We-we only- I mean, it was only the one time!"

Tsunade put the chart down on her lap, giving her student a scowl. "And you two didn't think to, I don't know, use any?"

"We did, m'Lady, but it broke. You have to believe me, we _were_ careful."

Tsunade's glare held a few seconds before softening and she let out a sigh. "Well, if you two _really_ were careful then there's nothing that I can say, really. I did more than give you permission, after all. I can't be angry, can I?"

The small room was quiet for a few seconds as the two sat in thought before Tsunade sat up, walked to the small desk, putting the chart on it and pulling out a pair of medical gloves from a box. "Well, if you're ready then we'll get started." She walked back to the bed as she put on the gloves. Sakura nodded and Tsunade stepped up to her

"As you know there are a few ways to check, some more invasive than others. I'd suggest checking you with chakra though, it may be the most invasive but it's the most accurate, especially this early on." Tsunade gave her student a soft smile. "So, what would it be, Sakura? I can always go get the equipment from down the hall if you want."

"No, no I'm fine with you checking with chakra. I want it done as accurately as possible." She gave a nod. "That's why I came to you, m'Lady. I want to know without the shadow of a doubt if I'm pregnant."

Tsunade studied her student for a few seconds before giving her a smile. "I understand, Sakura. If you're ready then we can get started."

oooOooo

 **(Later)**

"Have you told Naruto yet? Or your parents?" Tsunade asked as she sat down on her chair next to the exam table. She tossed the rubber gloves in the bin and marked a few things on her clipboard.

"No," Sakura answered. "I didn't want to tell them before I was sure."

Tsunade nodded her head, learning back in her chair. "That was smart. No need for them to get their hopes up before you're sure. It may have been a false alarm."

Tsunade was silent as she let Sakura process the news. After a few minutes the pinkette spoke up. "Lady Tsunade, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Sakura." She said with a smile. "But before you ask, no, I'm not upset with you. In fact, I'm extremely happy for you."

Sakura shook her head. "No, Lady Tsunade, that's not it. I was just wondering… well, uh...about that box you put in my luggage?"

Her mentor raised a brow. "Oh? What about it?" She asked.

"Well, you haven't asked for it back yet. I have it right here in my purse." She made a move to get off the exam bed but Tsunade stopped her with a wave of her hand.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura. You keep it." The older woman said nonchalantly.

"You sure, m'Lady?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade nodded her head and gave a half shrug. "I surely don't need it anymore, now do I? I'm well past that time in my life, besides...," Her voice dropped to a whisper and Sakura wondered if Tsunade knew she was still speaking aloud. "...Both of the men I love are dead."

A question entered Sakura's mind again that she didn't know whether or not if she should ask, but after wondering about it the past few weeks she couldn't help her curiosity and decided to ask.

"...Lady Tsunade?" She asked hesitantly.

"Hmm?" Tsunade asked, seeming to come back to reality.

"Why- why did you have that box anyway? I mean, you told me that you and your late fiancé, Dan, never…" She trailed off. Extremely embarrassed that she asked her mentor that. She instantly wished that she could take it back.

Tsunade stiffened a little and sat up straighter in her seat at that question. When she looked away, Sakura worried that she overstepped a line asking about her dead fiancé. And Sakura was about to apologize when Tsunade spoke up.

"You're right, Sakura. Dan and I had decided to wait until marriage, but, as you know, that never happened." Her voice was soft and unwavering.

The pinkette suddenly felt very guilty for making her mentor remember those feelings. "M'Lady, I'm-"

"No," Tsunade cut her off. "You don't need to apologize. What happened, happened a long time ago, and I've moved on."

Sakura looked like she was going to say something but Tsunade continued. "When you get to be my age you learn a few things. Like how to let go of the past and live out the rest of your shortening life happily." She turned her gaze from her student. "If I'm honest with myself, I wasted half of my life crying over him when he would've wanted me to move on and be happy."

Sakura nodded, understanding what her mentor meant. That only left one question. "...Then who?"

Tsunade, still looking at the wall, gave a small smile. "Who do you think, Sakura?"

The pinkette didn't even have to give it a moment's thought before the answer flooded her mind. Her eyes widened almost comically. "No-, y-you mean Lord Jiraiya?"

Tsunade didn't answer but her small grin was all the answer Sakura needed.

oooOooo

 **(Back to current time - With Naruto)**

'Flowers: Check. Wallet: Check. Reservation: …' Naruto's eyes widened slightly before be started patting his pockets in search of his reservation before he finally found it. Sighing loudly, the blond ninja continued his walk as he made sure he had everything for his date with Sakura. His surprise, sudden and _unannounced_ date with Sakura… _maybe_ he should've asked her beforehand. Kami _knew_ she wasn't good with surprises. Yeah, the likelihood of this going well wasn't high.

He had been a nervous wreck all day, anticipating this moment. It didn't help that in his muddled state he somehow managed to rip the sleeve of his suit jacket as he put it on. That of course lead to a mini freak out session as he rushed around his apartment looking for a needle and thread so that he could sew it back together. And because Kami apparently had a grudge against him, he couldn't find the sewing kit that he _knew_ he had somewhere. After several minutes of searching he was forced to go to the apartment below him and ask to borrow a sewing kit. Luckily for him the older woman who lived below him, Mrs. Yagami, was kind enough to help him, and after learning why he was in such a rush- meaning his date with Sakura- she even volunteered to sew it for him. Giving him a few pointers for his date as she did so. After thanking the older woman profusely and swearing that he'd make it up to her- to which she waved it off with a kind smile- Naruto rushed back upstairs to continue getting ready for his date.

And then there was his run in with Ino at the flower shop. After giving in to the blonde girl, he admitted that yes, the flowers were for Sakura and yes, that he was going to ask her out on a date. What followed would have surprised absolutely no one, Ino freaked out for several minutes, squealing as she did so- seriously, who squealed that much?- and succeeding in giving Naruto a mild headache when she reached an octave that could've shattered glass. He was then forced to sit through a fifteen minute lesson on the various types of flowers and their meanings. Because apparently it wasn't acceptable to just get Sakura any old bouquet of flowers, who knew. After learning more about flowers then he'd ever care to know, Naruto managed to slip away when Ino's dad walked in and distracted the bubbly blonde long enough for him to escape.

Shaking his head and tossing away those memories from earlier today, Naruto made the familiar trip to Sakura's house. He had taken this route only Kami knew how many times over the years. But tonight, tonight this was a first. Tonight he would be going to her house to ask her out on a date.

 _A date._

That word scared him so much. More than he ever thought possible.

 _Kami_ he was so nervous. They had talked about trying to continue their relationship once they got back to the village. To do it right, no pretending to be people they weren't, no missions, no lies and no rush. They had both decided that, even though they both really liked each other, that they would do this relationship right.

Not before long, Naruto made the short trip and stood at the door for a few seconds, trying to calm his breathing as he prayed to Kami for this to go well. Putting the flowers behind his back, he knocked on the door.

oooOooo

 **(Sakura)**

Sakura sat in her room at her desk, uselessly twiddling with a pen, rolling it back and forth across the desk. In other words, she was procrastinating. She had gotten back from her check up with Lady Tsunade hours ago but she hadn't made any attempt to talk to Naruto or her parents about the news. Not that she didn't _want to_ , mind you, she just didn't know how to bring it up with her parents without just walking up to them in the kitchen and saying 'Hey, Mom, Dad, how's it going? Oh, yeah, I'm pregnant by the way. With whom you might ask? The future Hokage of course, who else?' Yeah, that was _not_ the way to go.

The pinkette let out a sigh as she leaned back in her chair, she couldn't keep this from her parents, let alone Naruto, for ever. It still wouldn't be for a long while now but once she started showing everyone in the village would notice, and Kami knew how much the village liked to gossip. She would be the talk of the town until she came out and said something.

That is _not_ what she wanted, to be the talk of the town. But, once she thought about it, it was inevitable, really. Naruto was going to be the next Hokage and she was having his baby. It wasn't illegal, but it was really frowned upon when a girl got pregnant outside of marriage in the village. Just like when Kurenai Sensei and Asuma Sensei got pregnant, Sakura thought. Most of the older generation, including the Elder's Council, talked about the legitimacy of their child before it was even born because Asuma was the son of the Third. And here Naruto _was_ going to be the Hokage. The Elders already didn't like him to begin with, and now once this news came out in a few months, just when Naruto is first starting his position, he was going to be under even more scrutiny. And then there was the issue of her coming from a non-ninja family, the Elders wouldn't be happy about that either.

Sakura let out an audible groan, why did everything have to be so complicated? Why couldn't she just be with whoever she wanted and not have to worry about anything? She really needed to talk to Naruto and her parents about this as soon as possible so they could tell her what to do since she had honestly no idea.

With a 'huff' she rose from her desk, standing next to it. She was going to go downstairs and tell her parents right now before she could stop herself again. And then she would meet up with Naruto tomorrow and tell him. Yeah, that's what she was going to do. With a nod of agreement to herself she made her way to the door, but when her hand was reaching the doorknob, her mother's voice rang out and her door rushed open.

"Sakura!" Her mother yelled but upon seeing her daughter right in front of her she lowered her volume. "Oh, sorry, honey."

Sakura shook off the abrupt distraction. "It's fine, Mom, what is it?" She asked.

"There is someone at the door for you." She answered before swiftly turning and starting to walk down the hall.

"Wait, Mom!" Sakura reached out but her Mom was already halfway down the hall. "I need to talk to you and Dad about something."

Her mother waved it off. "I'm sure whatever it is can wait to later, didn't I say that you had someone at the door? I wouldn't leave a handsome man like that waiting long, honey." And with that her mom turned the corner and was out of sight.

"Handsome man…?" Sakura asked aloud but received no answer. "Who are you- _oh no_. Kami no. No no no no no! I-no." It was _him_.

If Sakura were honest, she was royally freaking out. This was _not_ the plan. She was supposed to talk to her parents tonight and _then_ talk to Naruto tomorrow. He wasn't supposed to show up at her front door! How was she even supposed to look at him? She couldn't even muster up the courage to do that all week. How was she supposed to talk to him in front of her parents?

Oh Kami, she felt like just dying right now. Could the earth just open up and swallow her whole? Could that happen? That'd be great.

"Sakura!" Her mother's voice rang out from somewhere in the house. "Your father let him in, hurry up and get your butt down here!" And there was her mother's normal brash attitude. Sakura wondered where it had gone a moment earlier.

"I'm coming!" She answered back. Maybe she could just see whatever he needed and then ask him to meet her tomorrow for lunch or something? Yeah, that could work, she'd just politely send him away for now so that she could tell her parents and then see him tomorrow.

Sakura made it downstairs and was just about to turn the corner and greet Naruto when she heard her dad in the middle of one of his terrible jokes. She froze in her spot, unable to move.

"Oh, I have another one for you. 'Why don't dinosaurs talk?'" He asked and Sakura could tell by his voice that he was holding back a laugh as he did.

"...I don't know, why?" Came Naruto's voice. Kami, she was blushing and they weren't even in the same room yet! How was she supposed to talk to him like this? Sakura made it to the front door just as her dad gave the punchline.

"'Because they're all dead!'" He almost yelled out the answer, before laughing so obnoxiously loud that Sakura just had to stop and facepalm. Her dad was so hopeless.

Naruto was silent for about five seconds until he doubled over and started laughing like a crazy person.

"Aahhhaaahaaaa! Oh, *laugh* Mr- *laugh* Mr. Haruno- *wheezy laugh* that was *cries while laughing* the best joke *laugh, _again_ * ever!" Sakura found herself talking before she could even stop herself.

"It's really not." She blurted out, gaining the attention of the two laughing males and her mother who was off to the side trying to not roll her eyes at her husband.

The two males in question turned to and her father spoke up, waving her off. "Oh Sakura, you've never understood a good joke. Naruto here thought they were all great!" He said as he waved off her words. He then turned back to Naruto who faced the older man again.

"That's because he's an idiot." She mumbled to herself. Neither her dad nor Naruto seemed to hear here but her mother sure did.

"Don't mumble, Sakura, now, be polite and go greet your guest." Her mom told her as she practically shoved her towards Naruto. "And be sure to invite him to have some dinner, I just finished a minute ago." Her mom then gave Naruto a polite wave and headed back to the kitchen. Naruto didn't seem to notice however, as her dad was busy telling him another terrible joke.

"You liked that last one, huh, well this one's even better! 'What do you call it when a cow jumps over a barbed wire fence?'"

"What?" Naruto asked after a few seconds of 'serious' consideration.

Her dad leaned in to the blond young man and spoke in a low voice, barely even able to get his words out without laughing. "'Utter-destruction!'"

Silence.

For several long seconds.

Kami these two were going to drive her crazy.

Sakura rolled her eyes when after a few seconds of silence, Naruto burst out into tears of laughter, her father joining him a second after. It wasn't even that funny, why did he- oh Kami, did Naruto just _slap his knee_? His knee! Who even does that? She watched in awe as her boyfriend and dad laughed themselves to tears in their entryway.

Why me? Sakura thought, why did Naruto have to be such a big goofball? And why did seeing him laughing like an idiot make her smile? Why did everything he had to do make her smile?

It was then Naruto turned to her and smiled, seemingly noticing her for the first time. It was also then when she realised that he was dressed up, like not in his god awful, eye-searing orange abomination of a jumpsuit, but like he was when they were at the resort together. Her mom called her dad from the other room and he left, still chuckling to himself. Sakura was pretty sure she heard him mumble something like 'That kid's a keeper' as he left the room.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." He greeted warmly, giving her a big smile. And oh Kami, he took a few steps to close the distance between them. Why was he coming closer?! Didn't he know he was driving her crazy right now?

"H-hey, Naru-kun." Great, now she was stuttering, she was hopeless. You talk to him all the time, she berated herself, now's not any different. So just talk to him!

He rubbed the back of his neck and and averted his eyes from her, she could tell he was nervous about something. She was about to ask him why he was here when she suddenly had a bouquet of flowers shoved in her face.

"I hope you like them, I had no idea what to get, so I just got what Ino told me to get." He said very quickly. "So… uh, I hope you like them."

Taking the bouquet of flowers out of her face she looked them over and looked up to Naruto. "They're beautiful, Naru-kun. But why- I mean, I love them, but why are you here?" She tried as hard as she could to not sound rude, she didn't want him to get the impression that she was unhappy to see him. The opposite in fact, despite her mini freak out earlier.

He rubbed the back of his neck again, seemingly weighing his words in his head. He answered after a few seconds. "I… uh… was actually hoping to take you out for dinner. You know… like a date."

Oh. That was unexpected to say the least. But made sense in hindsight, he was dressed up after all.

Sakura realized that she was silent for too long and that he was probably getting the wrong idea based on how his smile was slowly dropping. She mentally shook her head and smelled the bouquet in her hands.

"A date?" She echoed him. "I'd love to go on a date, Naru-kun."

"Really?" His face brightened.

She smiled. "Of course really. Why would I say no to a date?"

Naruto then proceeded to fistpump the air with a loud 'whoop'. Apparently he was happy.

"Sakura! What are you doing to that poor boy? Invite him in already!" Her mother's voice rang out from the dining room.

"In a minute, mom." The pinkette called back. She turned to Naruto. "Are we going right now?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, as long as it's okay with your parents that you're skipping dinner with them."

She shrugged. "It's fine, they won't mind. Besides, my mom always drives me crazy at dinner with all her lectures about my life." She paused for a second, realizing that this was spoiling the mood and continued. "Anyway, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." He answered. Of course it was. She looked down at her clothes, she was wearing some sweats and a t-shirt, not really acceptable at any restaurant. She'd have to change, but then she'd have to know where they were going so that she could dress accordingly.

"Well what should I wear?" She eyed his clothing, nothing too fancy, just some dress pants and a nice jacket over a dress shirt. So nothing too fancy, probably, but probably- hopefully not- Ichiraku either.

"Something a little nice, but not too fancy." He replied. Well that was a big help, she thought.

Sakura shrugged. "Okay, just let me tell my parents then I'll go change real quick and we'll go." Naruto nodded and she went into the dining room to tell her parents.

oooOooo

 **(At the Restaurant)**

"This night has been amazing, Naru-kun." Sakura sighed as she took a bite of her dessert. It was a specialty from some other country so she didn't know what it was, but it sure was delicious. Some sort of pastry with cream and chocolate.

It turns out when Naruto said 'Not too fancy' he meant the exact opposite. This place was where the Kage, Feudal Lords and leaders of clans like the Hyuuga came for dinner. With its floor to ceiling windows, marble and jade statues, diamond chandeliers and 'I'm better than you' atmosphere. But none of that mattered to Sakura, she was just happy to have a nice dinner with Naruto like old times. It probably also helped that Naruto got them a private room so that they'd have some privacy. It was a good thing that Sakura took the extra time to find a nice dress and do her makeup and hair, because she didn't know if she'd survive the embarrassment of coming to a place like this in her normal clothes.

Naruto smiled. "I'm glad, I wanted to just be able to have fun and relax tonight. I've been too busy to see you much since we got back, which I am sorry for, Sakura-chan."

She waved it away. "Don't worry about it, we've _both_ been really busy since we got back to the village. I'm not upset, so don't worry about it." _And I've been avoiding you, so it's my fault,_ Sakura thought.

He smiled to her and took another bite of his own dessert. They fell into a comfortable silence, both of them thinking about how great of a night it has been. Well, Naruto was thinking that, Sakura was debating in her head whether or not this was a good time to spring the news on him. She knew that they were alone right now, so she didn't have to be worried about being interrupted, but on the other hand, she didn't want to ruin the night by telling him. It turns out that she must have had a strange look on her face as she debated with herself because Naruto noticed it.

"...Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" He asked cautiously. "Is the food bad or something? I can order you something else if you want."

"What-" Sakura asked in confusion, before looking down at the fork in her hand that still had a piece of dessert on it, just in front of her mouth. She didn't realize she stopped eating as she thought. She put the utensil down and shook her head softly. "The food's amazing, that's not it… I was just… thinking about something."

Naruto had a cautious look on his face, like he expected her to be unhappy. "Did I… do something wrong?"

Sakura shook her head more this time. "No, of course not, Naruto. You've been amazing to me tonight, bringing me here, paying for dinner, everything…" She trailed off, not knowing how to proceed.

He gave her a serious look before dropping his own utensils and pushing his plate away. He stood up suddenly but seemed to hesitate for a second, he gestured to the space next to her on the booth. "May I?" He asked. She nodded, scooted over a little to give him space and he cleared the short distance and sat next to her. They sat in silence for what felt like an hour to Sakura until Naruto turned to her and spoke up in a soft voice.

"Sakura-chan, something is wrong… I know it. And we, well we promised each other that there would be no more secrets between us…. And I do respect your privacy, but something is wrong, I can tell." He softly picked up her hand in his. "So let me help, okay?"

Ignoring the butterflies in her stomach at his touch because she had _more important_ things to think about, she looked up at him. "How can you tell? How do you know something's wrong, I mean?"

He gave her an 'are you for real' look. "Because you're one of my oldest friends. I can see it on your face. How long have we been friends?"

"Most of our lives." She answered.

He nodded. "So if I can't tell when something is bothering you then I'm being a bad friend." He paused for a few seconds, letting her hand free and sat up a little straighter. "...I don't want to push if you don't want me to, so I'll drop it. Yeah… I'm sorry for pushing so much, I'll stop." He began to stand back up but she caught his arm, keeping him still.

"No, don't. Sit, please." He sat, waiting for her to say something. She needed to do this, she needed to tell him, he deserved to know. She owed it to him. So, with a long sigh she faced the table, unable to look at him. "There's something I need to tell you, Naruto."

He turned to face her, giving her his full attention. If she would've been facing him she would've seen the worried look on his face. "Is it- is it about us?" He asked softly.

She nodded silently. She could feel him tense from besides her. He cleared his throat softly. "Are you… having second thoughts about… us?"

She shook her head with a little more force than was necessary, looking at him again. "No no, of course not, Naruto. That's not- I mean, why would I- this is what I've wanted for-" She let out a breath and tried her best to collect her thoughts. "There is something I need to tell you." She repeated, praying to Kami for strength.

"...What?" She could hear the apprehension in his voice.

"It's not what you're thinking, Naruto. It's not… bad, either. Well, at least I don't think-hope, you'll actually be happy about it. At least I hope so."

He scooted closer to her and lightly placed his hand on her shoulder. "You're killing me with this," He waived his free hand a little as he searched for a fitting word. "Stuff, just tell me. I promise I won't get upset, whatever it is. Whatever you say, if you want to take a break… or, stop this-" She broke him off quickly.

She realized he was getting the wrong, completely wrong idea, she didn't regret their relationship or anything. So she found herself coming clean before she could think twice about it.

"I'm pregnant." Her words were so sudden that they even caught her off guard.

He didn't say anything for what felt like an eternity.

And every second of silence was killing her.

She was faced away from him so she couldn't see his face. But she worried what she'd find when she looked at him. Anger? Would he be upset? Carelessness? What? She didn't know what to expect. So when he spoke up she held her breath.

"Say it again." His voice was so soft, cautious and hesitant that Sakura almost didn't recognize it as his. She steeled her nerves and repeated herself.

"I'm pregnant." She said a little more confidently this time. She gave one last silent prayer to Kami and turned to face Naruto. But what she saw threw every worry she had away. It completely short-circuited her brain, making her unable to focus on anything except his face.

He was crying.

Naruto, the hero who faced gods without batting an eye. Naruto, who always held his true emotions hidden from the world. Naruto, who Sakura had only seen cry after Jiraiya-sama died, was crying softly in front of her. Nothing too much, only a few rogue tears ran down his face, but it was still enough to make her catch her breath.

His face was soft, his mouth opened softly as a few silent tears flowed slowly down his face. He seemed frozen, she could barely even tell he was breathing, it was like the news made everything in his brain come to an abrupt stop.

They were silent for a few more seconds and that silence was driving her mad, so she made herself speak. "...Naruto? Can you say-"

Without warning the blond man next to her closed the small distance between them in the booth and embraced her in a tight hold. She gasped in shock but quickly let herself be held. His chest was pressed up to her so much she could feel his heartbeat. A second later he spoke.

"Oh, Kami… I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan." He mumbled in her ear.

Well.

That wasn't the first thing she expected him to say. Not in the slightest. It took her a few seconds to form a sentence.

"What are you sorry for, Naruto? I'm not upset, yeah I was a little shocked, but I'm not mad-"

He shook his head softly, his hair brushing against her face. "No, that's not it." He pulled away from her slowly, looking at her closely. "I thought you were having second thoughts. I expected bad news. I- I should've given you more credit, I'm sorry."

He smiled for the first time in minutes and that small gesture removed a immense weight from her shoulders already. "But this is good news." He said quickly before hesitating. "It _is_ good news, right, Sakura-chan?"

Was this good news? Honestly, Sakura didn't know. She wasn't upset or mad, or anything like that. She was actually excited to have the baby, as _frightening_ as that prospect was. But she had been so worried about how _he'd_ take the news that she hadn't spent much time thinking about how _she_ felt about it.

"It _is_ good news." She answered after a few seconds. "I-uh, honestly I was worried that you wouldn't take it this well…" She felt terrible for saying it, but it was how she felt.

He blinked a few times, shocked. "Sakura-chan… did you think that I wouldn't be happy?" He asked softly.

She nodded once, turning her eyes from him. She felt ashamed to admit it, but it was true. She shifted a little in her seat, uncomfortable.

"I was just worried, you know. You're going to be the Hokage soon and you have more important things to worry about then a kid-"

Naruto took hold of both of her shoulders, pulling himself in close to her, looking deep into her eyes. " _Nothing_ is more important anymore. Did you really think that I wouldn't want to be a part of my child's life?" When she didn't reply he kept going. "Sakura, you know how I grew up, did you honestly think that I would _ever_ make another kid grow up without a parent?"

Now she felt terrible. Why did she think he would make her do this alone? Why did she think that he wouldn't want to be a part of their child's life? When has Naruto ever done something like that to her? The answer was never, he would never do that.

Sakura grabbed his shirt lightly in her fist and placed her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't've- I didn't think- I'm story, Naru-kun." She cried. "I was just worried…"

He picked her up carefully from his shoulder and used a finger to wipe the tear off her face, smiling to her with that stupid smile that made her stomach knot. "It's fine, Sakura-chan, now, can we please stop talking about all this depressing stuff? We're having a baby! Well, you're having a baby, but it's ours! So let's celebrate!"

She wiped her last tear from her face and nodded, a smile on her lips. This man was amazing. "You're right, we should celebrate. How about some more of that whatever you call it dessert?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You really liked that stuff, huh?"

Sakura gave him a look like he was crazy. "Are you serious, it was amazing."

She almost missed it but she caught him sarcastically roll his eyes. "Are you sure that the cravings just haven't started yet?"

"What?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, you _did_ eat more than me… Which I didn't know was physically possible with your tiny body-" He was cut off when she punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Ow! That hurt." He whined as he rubbed his arm.

"Serves you right," She mumbled as she stole some food from his plate, to which she received a glare from Naruto, which she promptly ignored. "You don't comment on a pregnant woman's eating habits, you _boob_."

"A _boob_?" He wore a fake hurt look. "Name calling, really? I see that pregnancy has made you grumpy, _sweetie_." He retorted as he attempted to steal his food back from her plate.

She smirked when he dropped the food that he managed to take back on the seat. "Don't mock me, _snookums_. I can make your life a living hell in a few months."

He chuckled, not taking her threat seriously before stealing a quick peck on her cheek. "I think I'll take my chances."

"Not fair." She groaned.

He had the nerve to smirk at her. "All's fair in love and war, Sakura-chan. Now, let's order you some more of that dessert before you go feral and mistake me for food."

WHAM!

"Ow!"

* * *

 **Quick AN:**

 **This takes place a little before the events with Naruto and Sakura.**

 **Also be sure to Follow me on Twi tter HephaestusBuil1**

 **Yay, shameless self plugs :)**

* * *

 **(With Shikamaru)**

After returning to the village and giving their report- to which the elders took issue with, because _of course_ they did- the group of ninja said farewell to Temari, who had to return to her own village to give her report. As well as see her brothers after so long of being away from them. She wouldn't admit it outloud but she sometimes misses those two knuckleheads.

So needless to say Shikamaru missed her. He admits it, she has been gone over a week now and was due back today, so that's why Shikamaru found himself pacing in front of the main gates waiting for her. He had talked to Kakashi-sensei the other day about granting Temari a special citizenship here in the Leaf that would also allow her to still be a citizen of the Sand so that she could still visit her brothers. Kakashi-sensei, like Shikamaru expected, agreed instantly, with a small smile Shikamaru could detect under his mask.

The two had stayed in contact by messenger hawk while apart, well, as much as you can when your only venue of communication is a messenger hawk. Shikamaru had decided to save the news about her citizenship deal he made until they saw each other in person. It would make for a great surprise.

If only she would get here already, she was due here several hours ago, and while Shikamaru is normally a very patient man, he was a little lovesick, so who could blame him?

Okay, so maybe he wasn't _that_ lovesick, it's not like he _couldn't_ live without her, he just didn't _want_ to. He took a second and thought over that last thought. ..Yeah, there was no denying it, he was lovesick.

He was starting to sound like Naruto… Kami, kill him now.

Anyway, Shikamaru was mindlessly pacing around the gate waiting for Temari, trying his best to figure out what he was supposed to do now. He had no idea. They were dating now, and she was planning on moving to the Leaf for the time being so that they could continue their relationship, but Shikamaru had no clue _how_ to be in a proper relationship. He had never been in one before and whenever his dad or Asuma-sensei would try to give him relationship advice, he would just wave their words off, saying that he wasn't interested in a relationship. But now here he was, in a relationship with the only girl he's ever had feelings for, and was going to invite her to move into his clan compound with him.

He wasn't a relationship expert but he was pretty sure he was skipping a few key steps in their relationship progress. Or maybe he wasn't, he honestly had no idea. Maybe he should try asking someone for advice. He considered that, of course, the only problem was that the two people whom he would've gone to first are dead, being his dad and Asuma-sensei. So Shikamaru had no idea who to ask for advice. Maybe Kurenai-sensei? That could work, but he figured it was probably be best to ask another guy about advice for dating a girl. Oh well, another problem for another day. He had more important things to worry about today than asking for relationship advice.

Like his date with Temari.

If she ever arrives, that is.

It was then when the two eternal gatekeepers, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, who had both been watching the young genius pace next to the gate for the last several hours, trying to tell him jokes and ask why he was there every several minutes to make conversation, spoke up.

"Hey," Kotetsu called out to his partner who was petting a nearby, random, scruffy looking dog, waiving to him. "Someone's coming. Get back over here before you get us in trouble!"

Izumo looked up as he rubbed the dog's belly. "But he's _so_ cute, just look at him, Kotetsu."

Kotetsu rolled his eyes. "I already saw him yesterday _and_ the past three days he wondered over here. I told you to stop giving him food, now he'll never leave." Shikamaru watched as Izumo fed the dog some sort of dried meat strip.

"Fine, party pooper." His friend looked really disappointed as he gave the dog one final scratch behind the ear and made his way behind the desk next to his partner.

It was then when Shikamaru was able to get a good enough look at the person heading their way, them being at a close enough distance to make out.

Shikamaru won't even lie, his heart did a little flutter when he realized it was Temari who was approaching. And before he could realize what he was doing, he found himself jogging up to her. Dismissing the calls from Kotetsu to wait in the village until they checked in the visitor. He seemed to stop however when he too realised who Shikamaru was going to meet.

When Shikamaru reached his girlfriend he noticed a her trying to hide smirk. "What?" He asked.

She shrugged lightly. "Nothing, it's just cute to see that you missed me so much that you had to run up to greet me before I even got to the gate."

His face turned a little red. "I didn't- I mean, of course I did, but I-" He tried to explain quickly, fumbling over his words as he did. Temari cut him off with a chuckle and a tap to his nose.

"I'm just messin' with you, babe." She leaned over to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You're so adorable when you get flustered Shika. I missed that when I was gone."

"Well I missed _you_." He replied. She lightly hit his arm, smiling as she leaned up against him. He swung his arm her waist automatically as they started heading towards the gate.

"Oh you sweet talker you. I haven't been back two seconds and you're already using your silver tongue on me. I see how it is, now you're going to bring me back to your place so that you can have your way with me." She paused for a second. "Not that I'd mind, of course."

His face went even redder but he managed to not let her comment stop his heart like it used to. "You're so tempting sometimes it physically hurts." He mumbled into her hair as they walked.

Temari chuckled, pushing into him slightly, almost making him stumble. "Who knew all you needed to grow a pair and joke back was for me to leave for a week? Maybe I should go back to the Sand village more often."

Shikamaru nudged her back, making them drift to the side a little as they were still connected by his arm around her waist. "Don't you dare, beautiful, I might just die at that point."

She nudged him again, lighter this time. "You charmer. Maybe you can-"

"Not that you two aren't really cute together-" Izumo started.

"-Try sickening, their as bad as Asuma was-" Kotetsu interrupted.

"But Temari still needs to check in first before you two can go-"

"-Suck on each other's faces-"

"-In the village."

"-Somewhereother than here." Kotetsu finished

The young couple stopped and realized that they made their way to the main gate. They would've walked right past the visitor check in if Izumo and Kotetsu didn't get their attention. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck, giving the two an apologetic smile. "Sorry, guys, we forgot."

Kotetsu gave him an amused look. "Don't worry 'bout it. Just stop snuggling for a second so we can check Temari in."

oooOooo

 **(A little while later)**

"So what's the plan, Shika?" Temari asked as the two walked hand in hand through the village. They spent a few minutes at the gate signing Temari in and- begrudgingly- explaining to Kotetsu and Izumo that Temari was here to see Shikamaru and no other official reason.

He wore a slightly cautious face. "Well I figured that since we haven't seen each other in awhile that we could… go on a… date." He continued quickly. "Only if you want to, that is."

When she didn't reply in a nanosecond he must've taken it as a no and quickly did a one-eighty. "You know what, nevermind. I'm sorry, forget I said anything. I understand if you want to relax first-"

She snorted. "You're so nervous it's adorable-"

"Hey." He sounded affronted, giving her a look of mock hurt.

"-But it _is_ getting a little tiresome, Shika." She turned to him with a serious look. So he instantly sobered up and stopped walking. She spoke in a firm but kind voice. "Stop second guessing everything, okay? I like you, you like me, we're _dating_ now and nothing's gonna change that. If you wanna take me on a date, do it. If you wanna kiss me, _please_ , be my guest. Listen, Shika, if we want to take this relationship seriously then you gotta be more assertive, okay? Stop looking for me to approve everything you do." It was after she finished that she realized that that came out a little more aggressive than she meant it to.

They were silent for several seconds, only looking at each other. Temari let out a breath and leaned into him, her voice softer than before. "Sorry, Shika, I wasn't- I didn't mean to make it sound like that…. I'm just tired from my trip here. You know that I wasn't trying to be rude, right?"

He nodded, putting his arm around her lightly. "I know, Tem. Don't apologize." He paused for a second, trying to find the right words. "...I know I'm not the most open about my feelings type of person, but I've been trying to change that since I first had a crush on you. I was raised… strictly, I guess. I was taught from a young age to be old fashioned. Only speak when spoken to, treat others with respect. Never let your emotions be seen in public. Always treat women with respect and formality when dating… my mother as well as the clan elders drilled that into my head as a kid. I was taught to be the perfect heir of my clan. I never learned how to express my feelings, especially when it comes to you. My parents were never open about their love for each other."

He paused for a second, catching what he just said. He shook his head and continued. "I'm not saying that they didn't love each other, of course. I _knew_ that they loved each other, but they were always formal and composed with each other around me. Thinking back I can't honestly say that I ever saw them being romantic with each other." He looked like he was looking back in his mind. "I've never even seen my parents _kiss_ , or _hug_ , or anything that would give me _any_ idea how to act in a relationship."

He let out a sigh and looked into her eyes, making her cheeks flush despite the situation. _Stupid brain_. "What I'm trying to say is that I have _no_ idea how to be in a relationship, and if I'm too polite or formal or anything is because that's how I was raised. Not because I'm just aiming for your approval. I really like you, Temari, and I'd never do anything to ruin this… but please let me go at my own pace, okay? I can't just up and change my entire personality so quickly."

There was another gap of silence as the two looked everywhere except at each other. Completely ignoring everything in the village around them. Temari finally broke the silence by learning into his side. "How long have you been waiting to get that off your chest?" She asked hesitantly.

Shikamaru looked a little nervous for a second, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous motion. "...Since back at the resort. You would always tell me to lighten up and stop being so uptight whenever you made a joke or did something flirty. And for the most part I didn't mind, really, but in the back of my mind somewhere I felt a little pressured to change, you know?" He dropped his arm and shoved his hand in his pocket. "I know you're not trying to, but sometimes it comes off that way."

Temari considered his words, realizing that she was kind of pushing him out of his comfort zone a lot. She didn't mean to, well, that was kind of a lie, she liked seeing him blush and stutter, but she respected his wishes enough to not push him too much. She just didn't know that he had a serious problem with it.

She let out a little breath, lightly grabbing hold of his arm. "I'm sorry, Shika. I'll try not to-"

He shook his head slightly. "No need to apologize, Tem. I know. I'm not mad or anything so let's just stop this depressing conversation and go get something to eat, what do you say?"

She gave a smile. "You know me, I can't say no to food. Let's get something to eat!" She tugged on his arm and pulled them further into the village, heading towards the nearest restaurant. "But you're paying, babe."

She couldn't see it but she knew he had a smile on his face. "Of course you're making me pay."

And just like that they were fine again. They headed to the restaurant like their previous conversation didn't happen. They were both mature enough to see and understand the others' view. Maybe other couples would talk about it more, maybe they would even get into an argument over it, but they didn't. All they needed was to say their peace and move on. Shikamaru wasn't sure if it was the optimal thing to do in a relationship but he knew himself and Temari enough to know that they didn't need to do whatever other couples did. They didn't fit the normal mold, nor did they need to. He couldn't explain how he knew it, but he knew that the best way to go about their relationship was just to be themselves.

Maybe he did actually remember something that his dad told him about being in a relationship after all.

oooOooo

 **(Later, with Shikamaru and Temari)**

"Thanks for taking me to lunch, Shika." Temari said as the two walked out of the restaurant hand in hand. They had decided on seafood since Temari had been missing it since they left the resort and she lived in a desert. Not a place well-known for its supply of sea life. They talked about what they had been doing since the mission, which for both of them it had been filled with nothing but work and meetings. After a little back and forth arguing they finally decided to go half and half on the bill. Temari claimed that it was because she ordered several extra servings of shrimp but Shikamaru figured she would've done so regardless.

"No problem, Tem." He replied with a smile.

She looked up to him expectantly. "So what do you have planned next?" She asked a little excitedly.

He gave her a look. "Who says that I have a plan?" He asked. "Do you think I plan out everything I do?"

She gave him an amused look. "Yeah, I kinda do, you're _you_ , dummy. I'd be surprised if you _didn't_ have a plan, honestly."

"...You have me there." He admitted. "Why do you have to be so smart _and_ good looking?"

She grinned at him as she nudged him with her elbow. "You flatter me, babe."

"I try."

"But seriously, what's the plan?" Her eyes widened as she thought of something. "And oh yeah, where am I going to be staying while I'm here? The inn?"

"Nope."

She gave him a curious look. "You gonna give me anymore info there, babe?"

"Nope." He said, popping the 'p'.

"You cheeky…" She mumbled. "Fine, don't tell me."

He seemed fine with that. "Okay."

She groaned in an over the top fashion. "I wasn't serious, Shika. I'd rather know where I'm going to be staying while I'm here."

He chuckled at her antics, earning him a light punch to the arm from his girlfriend. He continued leading them through the village, undeterred by her attempts to get him to answer her. "It's a surprise, Tem. I'm not going to tell you, besides, I think your gonna like it."

She let out a puff of air from her puffed out cheeks. "It better be five-star is all I gotta say."

They continued for a few more minutes before reaching a small wooden gate that Temari recognized. She turned to her boyfriend with wide eyes. "This is your house."

He nodded. "My clan compound, yes." He opened the gate, letting her go in first before closing it behind him. He then continued leading her down the path.

"...Wait, you're not serious." She turned to her boyfriend, he had a smile on his face. "I thought you were joking when you said I could stay with you. I'm going to be living with you?"

"I wasn't joking. I cleared it with my mom the other day, she's excited to see you. But she's making you live in a separate house right next to ours though. So don't get any ideas."

"Right," She sighed sadly. "So no late night fun time, huh?"

He felt his cheeks redden. "No, I'm sorry. But my mom would literally castrate me if she learned of what we've done, and I prefer to keep my genitalia, thank you very much."

"I'd prefer you keep them too." She replied. "Otherwise our late night fun time wouldn't be as fun."

Shikamaru flushed even more. "Tem!"

She let out a laugh. "Yeah yeah, I know. Just show me where I can leave my bag and let's go see your mom, shall we?"

After showing Temari to her room, Shikamaru lead her to his house and they talked to his mom, Yoshino. After sizing up her son's girlfriend for what seemed like an eternity, she gave a firm nod and welcomed the Sand shinobi. After giving the two a serious talk about not trying any 'funny business', of course. Needless to say this made the two both blush slightly, Shikamaru more than Temari of course.

A few hours later the three of them had dinner together in the main house. Yoshino took to the girl much faster than Shikamaru expected. He was worried that his mothers' overbearing nature and personality would conflict with Temari's but the two seemed to get along perfectly over dinner. Yoshino pulled him over to the side as they collectively cleaned up after dinner, making Shikamaru a little nervous.

"I like her." His mother said simply. "Good job."

Shikamaru was completely taken back. "I'm sorry?"

"Temari, she's a really sweet girl. I was a little hesitant when you asked if she could stay here at first but I watched how you acted around her at dinner." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's a keeper. Your dad would approve too."

"Thanks mom, she's, well… special."

His mom gave him one of her rare 'caring mom looks'. "I'm happy for you, Shikamaru. I'm glad that you've found someone that makes you happy."

He couldn't help but smile, his mom was normally never like this. Quite the opposite actually. So it really meant a lot to him. "Thanks."

* * *

 **(With Ino, after Naruto left the shop)**

Naruto had just ran out while her back was turned a few minutes ago when Ino heard the bell ring, announcing another customer. She was about to welcome them but was surprised when she saw who it was.

"Sai," She said, giving him a questioning look. "Are you here to buy flowers?"

He walked up the counter hesitantly. "No."

She gave him a confused look. "Uh, okay… Then what can I do for you?" She asked.

"I was actually wondering if I could buy you some lunch" He said shyly.

She was silent for several seconds.

Her brain had to reboot for her to reply. "What?"

He shifted a little nervously in his spot, looking at a flower display a few feet away. "You told me that you couldn't think about being in a relationship right now, and I understand, but you also said that you'd be okay with starting over as friends… so… I was hoping we could get some lunch? As friends."

She didn't reply for a few seconds before giving him a smile. "I'd like that, Sai."

When she said that he had the biggest look of relief on his face that she'd ever seen, he even grabbed his chest like he was worried it would burst. She found it slightly funny. "Oh thank Kami," he muttered. "I was worried that you would say no."

She shook her head slowly, sighing. "I told you before that I wanted to get to know you better, why would I say no to an opportunity like that?" She questioned.

Sai shuffled his feet a little. "I-I don't know. I was just a little worried."

"Well don't be, Sai." She said. "I said we could be friends, so let's go get some lunch as friends."

He smiled. "That's all I ask. Thank you, Ino."

She took off her apron and shrugged. "No prob. Let me tell my dad I'm going on break and we'll go, 'kay?"

"'Kay." He replied.

A few minutes later found the two heading out to lunch as friends. It wasn't what Sai honestly wanted, but he was happy nonetheless that Ino was giving him the opportunity to build a friendship with her that could one day turn into a romantic relationship. He didn't do anything that day that could be perceived as romantic, of course, or any of the following days. He didn't want to risk rushing anything. But he did make sure to pay for her meals though, a trick that he learned from Naruto.

Maybe someday she would let him take her on a real date, but until that day Sai was just content to spend some time with her as friends.

 **Aaaand FIN.**

 **Sorry 'bout the short InoSai section, but I'll leave their budding relation up to your imaginations. And they'll be together in my next story and I wanted to have them be different in that one. Thank you all for reading, please read my Author's Note below.**

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Well there it was, did anyone enjoy it? Not gonna lie, I was so worried writing this Finale. I hope it was a fitting end, I tried my best.**

 **Before you go I have some important announcement stuff to go over. You all still here? Good.**

 **Please leave a REVIEW, FAVORITE AND FOLLOW both me and my story as well. It really makes my day. Be sure to go to my PROFILE, check out my future story ideas and fill out the POLL while you're there to let me know what stories you want in the future.**

 **Also follow me on Twi tter HephaestusBuil1 for updates and general shenanigans. I plan on posting daily for a while to test it out, so go follow me on there if you have one. If I get some more followers then I might be inclined to offer some sneak peaks on future stories or something like that. But only if you guys follow me.**

 **I also want to start a Question of the Day, so here it is:**

 **QOTD:**

" **What is your favorite series of all time? Anime, cartoon, tv show, book, whatever. And because this is a Naruto fic, Naruto excluded."**

 **Leave me a REVIEW with your answer, please. I'd love to know what you guys are into.**

 **With all of that said, we've finally reached the end of this story. It was fun, it went on too long due to my eight month hiatus, but I still enjoyed it. I have no plan as of yet about what comes next but you can be sure that I'll be working my butt off to get some new stuff out.**

 **Have a great day,**

 **Hephaestus**


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